Tsubame: WhhheeeeEEE… catching the Detective Conan bug was not a mistake. In this chapter, I will give you guys more clues to who the killer is. BTW, I changed something in the last chapter… I changed Itachi and Sakura's first meeting. Due to public demand, I wrote it. I hope you don't mind the slight changes…
Notes: I want to remind my readers that Tsubasa didn't eat the popcorn. She took some but didn't eat. I just want to remind you guys… you are free to change your answer if you want.
Sorry for the late update. I'm very busy. My schedule is killing me… I will try to update as fast as possible but please be patient. I can only do so much…. I hope you like this new chapter…
I want to thank you all so much for encouraging me to write this fic. It really means a lot to me.
Diclaimer: I have no ownership over Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I don't own any of its characters either.
"Summer School"
By Tsubame Ongaku
Chapter 8: Uchiha Sasuke
Last time…
Tsubasa looked like she was about to attack but instead she took a deep breath and smiled. "Yes, I know that song rocked." She reached out for the popcorn on the snack table offered to the performers. "Do you want one?" she asked, while taking a handful herself.
Torii took a handful and popped them into her mouth. "It must hurt to know that you're about to lose."
"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Torii."
Then something happened. Torii's eyes became as wide as saucers and held her throat as if something was choking her. "What is happening to m---" she choked but wasn't able to finish. Suddenly, Torii Uta, star singer of Cloud High fell to the floor…
…dead…
Everything had to be taken into account. It is important in every investigation. His current investigation was no different. This was his first time to investigate a murder. He was not pleased. He was far from pleased. It made him sick that a human being would kill another fellow human being. What were people thinking these days?
Is murder something pleasurable all of a sudden?
"She's dead," Sakura whispered as shook her head and trying to look calm and composed as possible. It was important not to panic the other students.
She and Sasuke had already got out most of the students. Only a handful of people were left. Some teachers, a few stage crewmembers, "Team 7", Hinata and the rounded up suspects. "Potassium cyanide. I can smell it all over her hands." Sakura took out the medical gloves that she was saving for her Biology class and put them on. She tossed another towards Sasuke.
"Are you sure, Sakura?" Sasuke asked her, grimly, while putting on the medical gloves. He looked at the singer's pale, stiff body lying on the floor. "This can only mean one thing, you know."
Sakura nodded not taking her eyes away from the body. "This is a murder."
"Naruto! Did you call the police now?" Sasuke turned to the blonde, who held the frantic and crying Hinata in his arms. "Yes, they are already on their way."
Yukino and Neji watched Hinata from the sidelines. Neji didn't look at all happy to see Hinata with Naruto but he knew that this wasn't the time to start a fight with Naruto especially now that Hinata was so upset.
"I'm going to get her a glass of water," Yukino told to Neji as she left. "Keep her calm."
"I can smell a hint of Potassium cyanide in this popcorn but the others are clean," Sakura told him, holding the popcorn Torii had eaten from, then she went over to Tsubasa. "Tsubasa-san, would you mind if I inspect your hands please? Did you eat any of this popcorn?"
Tsubasa stared at her confused but let her inspect them. "Sure, I don't see why not and no I never had the chance to eat the popcorn. I was too busy screaming my head off. You would too if you just saw somebody die in front of you."
Sakura raised her eyebrows. Sakura witnessed too but did not scream.
Tsubasa blushed, realizing it. "I mean… this is my first time," she began stammering.
Sakura inspected her hands, but then frowned. "Did anybody else touch you, the microphone or Torii since she sang?"
Tsubasa shrugged. She wanted to go home. "Torii never allows anybody to touch her." She chuckled without much humor in it. "She has the Prima Donna syndrome. She doesn't like commoners to touch her. As far as I can remember, no I don't think even the host touched it."
"What about you?"
"No, being around people I don't know makes me nervous. I like to keep my personal space." Tsubasa didn't like the serious look Sakura had on her face. "Sakura-san? Is there something wrong?" Tsubasa asked, nervously.
"Everybody, stand back and nobody touch anything on this stage and especially the microphone, the body and you too Tsubasa-san." Tsubasa's eyes bulged open. "Tsubasa-san, there is cyanide in your hands too…"
"What?" she screeched. "How could I get it in my hands?"
"I don't know. You tell us, Miss Ongaku," Sasuke smirked. "Is there something you're not telling us?"
"Are you accusing me of something, Uchiha? Then that is one very serious accusation." She folded her arms. "I didn't kill her for your information. Why should I kill her?"
"You're hiding something, Ongaku." He was inspecting the microphone and was not surprised to find the cyanide on ittoo. "There is cyanide on the microphone too, Sakura." He turned his attention back to the angry singer. "You might as well tell us. We will find out sooner or later. My instincts told me that you did not say the whole truth earlier. My instincts are never wrong."
"What are you doing, my son?"
Sasuke looked up from the file he was reading…or at least trying to read. "Mom? Oh, it's just you."
"Just me? What does that mean?" The beautiful lady pretended to be hurt but you can tell by her twinkling eyes that she was amused. "Is that any way to greet your mother?"
Sasuke smiled. He could already tell that his beautiful mother was just kidding. Sasuke was proud to have her as his mother. He had never told anyone…but Naruto of course. Mrs. Uchiha with her long black hair and gentle smile made her shine an inner glow. It wasn't a mystery where Sasuke got his looks. It was like Sasuke was the male version of his own mother. "Hmmm…and how am supposed to greet you?"
She sat down on the empty seat across him. "With more respect of course." She saw the file in front of him and frowned. "Another investigation? What is it this time? Stealing? Vandalism?"
"No…murder." He really didn't want to tell his mother but she would have found out sooner or later. Sasuke's father was a lawyer after all with a lot of connections. It was better than she knew about it now.
From the look on his mother's face, he could tell that she was shocked. The school had never given her son such a serious investigation before. "A murder? Sasuke, shouldn't you leave that to the police?"
Sasuke smiled softly and shook his head. "Mother, you are smothering me again."
"This is very different from the other cases you've handled, my son." She stroked his cheek with her hand. "I'm only worried for my baby."
Sasuke took her hand from his cheek and kissed the back of it. "I'm not a baby anymore. This is just something I have to do."
She sighed and nodded. It was hopeless trying to change his mind. Sasuke never did when he was determined to do something. "Okay, I will leave you to your investigation now. Your father is not going to like this, you know?"
He didn't say anything. His father was always upset with him about something, so he doesn't really care anymore. Their father always praised his brother, Itachi. Uchiha Itachi was a genius and Sasuke had just stopped competing now. Even he knew that he'd never be as good as his brother.
"I have to get dinner ready." She kissed him on the forehead before finally exiting. "Be careful, okay? Don't get yourself into too much trouble."
"Thanks, mom," he replied, laughing.
Once his mother was gone. Sasuke began rereading the file again. The police had given him and Sakura each a copy. He didn't know what exactly Tsunade-sensei was thinking giving them such a responsibility. He shook his head, frustrated. He had no time to think about that now. He had a case to solve.
In all honesty, he didn't want to take the case at first but then he heard that Sakura wanted to take it. Tsunade-sensei and he had a little talk. He had called him to her office after the murder.
"You heard that Sakura wanted to take the case, right?' The teacher asked, with a frown on her face.
He nodded. "Yes, I've heard but what does this have to do with me?" He folded his arms, defiantly to annoy the teacher.
"I want you to watch and if possible help her," she replied. "She badly wants to take this case. I'm not really sure why but she begged me to allow her. I gave her permission."
"Tsunade-sensei, for all do respect, are you crazy?" Sasuke cried out. "You're giving a murder case to a sixteen-year old girl?""
Tsunade was quiet for a while and continued shuffling her papers, before finally saying, "But not an ordinary sixteen-year old. You have to admit."
Sasuke didn't say anything. He knew she was right but would rather die than admit it. He turned to walk out from her office. Before he left though she said, "If you do this, Mr. Uchiha, I might reconsider sending you to summer school."
So, here he was. Helping Sakura solve the case. Both of them were amateurs when it came to murder cases but a lot of people believed in them.
The first file was the victim's. Uta Torii…
Name: Uta Torii
Age: 17
Gender: Female
There were other details in the file… like her address and old schools. Sasuke studied every one of them no matter how small, just looking for some sort of clue. He found nothing conspicuous so far.
He got to the case file…
Cause of death was poisoning (Potassium Cyanide). Poison found on various locations of the body, on the victim's hips and hair mostly.
There was a lot of data concerning the poisoning but not enough about the victim's actual character. He didn't know much about Uta Torii. He had seen a small portion of her character when she was talking to those two suspects. She was obviously the Prima Dona type. Somehow, he didn't like the way she treated them but then again…he treated others the same way too.
He was cold and calculating, somehow he can actually see a portion of himself in the victim. Cold… Uchiha Sasuke had always been cold. That was how people like always got what they want. He frowned. He shouldn't be thinking this way. He can't regret his actions now.
Suspect #1: Ongaku Tsubasa
Age: 17
Gender: Female
She was the musical representative of Sora High. She was girl of average grades and background. Nothing at all was conspicuous…until his eye noticed one little detail.
Elementary School: Cloud High Elementary School
Tsubasa spent elementary school at the same school as the victim. Sasuke frowned. Not once did Tsubasa mention that in her interrogation. Then again, when they spoke together before Torii died, they acted like they actually knew each other. Tsubasa also didn't start singing until she transferred to Sora High. It was also odd…
According to her file, she was also an impulsive writer. She writes anything on impulse. Sasuke wasn't really sure if this was important information but he was not going to completely leave it out of the investigation.
Suspect #2: Suzuki Aya
Age: 17
Gender: Female
It explained that Aya used to go to an all-girl school in Germany before finally going to Cloud High when she reached High school. She became best friends with the victim and when the victim decided to launch her career, she volunteered to be her manager.
She scheduled her appearances, performances and practices. She also organized the payments and bills. Aya seemed to be the one that handled everything in Torii's accounts and calendar.
From what Sasuke could tell, Aya would work herself to the grave for Torii. Why would she suddenly want to kill her? They were best friends, right? Sasuke thought that most of the time Naruto was annoying but he really couldn't imagine killing him. Though, it is very tempting sometimes.
He removed pictures of Aya from a manila envelope. He took out the picture of Aya when she was in High school. Aya was lovely in a very average way. She wore long skirts and long- sleeved blouses, glasses and braces. There was just nothing striking about her.
There was another picture inside and this time, Sasuke's jaw almost dropped. It was a picture of Aya in Elementary school. Sasuke couldn't believe that this was the same girl.
Aya's brown hair was down and not kept in one of her tight ponytails. She wasn't wearing any glasses or braces. She actually looked like one of the girls that Sasuke would date, if he didn't prefer blondes back then. Suzuki Aya was definitely beautiful and definitely rivaled Torii's beauty. Sasuke wanted to know what happened to this girl.
He was also given medical files of each suspect aside from the studies and autopsy of the victim. It turned out that Aya's eyesight is a perfect 20/20 and her braces were removed a few months ago. So, she was wearing retainers. Why? This girl didn't make sense. She's a girl and girls are usually so conscious of how they looked.
Suspect #3: Hanabishi Makoto
Age: 19
Gender: Male
He also went to Cloud High. Makoto had a history of jealous fits. He'd been already sent to jail twice for beating up people he suspected Torii dated while they were still together. He was handsome and a strict on fidelity. He was an honor student and his best subject was Chemistry.
He was also a musician. He played electric guitar. During the contest, he guitar played for Torii, while watching Torii flirt with her latest boyfriend, who was a back-up singer, on stage. According to some witnesses, Makoto did not look too happy.
Sasuke picked up the phone and dialed Sakura's number. "Sakura, it's me…it is time that we investigate further."
"Where do we go first?" Sakura asked Sasuke. They were inside Sasuke's red convertible and yes… Sasuke's driving…
"We're going to Miss Uta's school, Cloud High," he replied not taking his eyes off the road. Sasuke's a very accomplished race driver, so there is no real need to worry that he was going 60 miles per hour down an empty highway. "I want to talk to people who knew her and…" he squeezed the steering wheel harder. Her manager and ex-boyfriend."
Sakura nodded. "Let's not forget her latest boyfriend."
Sasuke smiled. "Yes, him too…"
Cloud high was just a twenty-minute drive from their school. As soon as Sakura got his call, Sakura accepted. She was really going to go anyway. She'd heard that Uchiha Sasuke was a great detective. She wasn't really sure, if she believed them but she really did want to see what the pretty-boy could do.
Sakura watched him sweet talk a female student and frowned. So this was how this "professional" worked, huh? Two can play that game.
"She said that Hanabishi is in the music room," he told her, after giving the female informer a peck on the cheek for the information.
She smirked. "Now I see why you enjoy this job."
Sasuke frowned for a moment but then grinned. "Now, now, sweetheart. This is not the best time to show you're jealous." He gave her a surprise peck on the cheek. "We have some work to do you know."
Sakura blushed. "You egotistic moron, what in the world makes you think I'm jealous?" She jabbed him hard on the arm, Sasuke fought to keep from crying out. "You can sweet talk every girl in this school and I wouldn't even care less."
She walked away in a huff, leaving Sasuke to follow her from behind with a triumphant grin on his face.
That triumphant grin didn't last for long that was for sure. They found the suspect, Hanabishi Makoto, in the music room all right. Sakura didn't waste time. She used Sasuke's technique against him. She began to sweet talk him into surrendering information. At first, Makoto seemed surprised but then he realized what she was trying to do.
"She was trying to make her boyfriend jealous," he thought. It seemed to be working to, so he decided to play along just to make things interesting.
"Makoto-san, I'm Haruno Sakura," she said in a very giggly voice. "It is great to finally meet you."
Makoto had always been famous around the school for his disarming smile. "Sakura? What a very beautiful name for someone as beautiful."
Sakura shook his hand, her smile unwavering. "Makoto-san, you are just too kind."
All of a sudden, Sasuke grabbed her arm and pulled her towards a private corner to talk. "Sakura, what game are you playing? Are you aware that you're flirting with a dangerous suspect?"
"Hmmph," she said, turning her head the other way. Who was he to tell her what to do? "You're overacting. What are you doing here interrogating me on how I do my job? Why don't you go to Suzuki Aya and ask her some questions? Don't waste time talking to me."
Sakura walked away in a huff but plastered a smile on her face again, when she began talking to Makoto. Instead of leaving, Sasuke followed her. No way was he going to leave her with him alone. Sakura did her best to ignore him but it was difficult. Sasuke was throwing murderous looks at Makoto the whole time.
Sasuke also kept on wrapping him arm around her shoulder. At first, she kept shrugging his arm away but then he held firm and threw her a look that said, "if-you-shrug-my-arm-away-again-I-will-break-you-neck." She stopped shrugging it.
"So, how long had you and Torii been together?" Sakura asked. The arm around her shoulders was heavy and she was very tempted to cut it off.
"Mmmm… about two months," he replied. He picked up his acoustic guitar, his electric on was in the shop, and began playing a soft tune. "I know it may not seem long for some people but usually Torii's boyfriends last for only a few days." He stopped playing. "I did love her, you know?"
Sasuke snorted. "You must have, if you were willing to go to jail for her."
Makoto frowned but didn't say a word. Instead, he played his guitar. He began humming the lyrics of Poisoned Lady. Sasuke didn't like the guy but couldn't help noticing that the pretty boy had a pretty good voice.
"It must have taken a long time to master the Poisoned lady," Sakura gushed, annoying Sasuke even more. "Torii really awed me with her lyrics? Who wrote it? Did Torii write it?"
Makoto stopped playing and stared into space for a few minutes before replying, "Torii never really struck me as a song writer, so when she showed us Poisoned Lady, we were quite shocked." He smiled faintly and shrugged. "The song was amazing."
"Who usually wrote the songs?" Sakura smiled, sweetly. Sasuke wanted to puke.
Makoto shrugged and blushed. "I did…" then he looked away, frowning. "Actually, for the contest, I wanted her to sing a song I wrote. It was called, I'm waiting…" He began strumming the chords. It was a ballad.
Sakura squealed. "Can you sing it for us?" She grabbed his hand and brought it to her cheek. "Pretty please?" she asked, fluttering her eyes.
Makoto blushed but then Sasuke grabbed her hand and pushed her away from the singer. The brunette gave him a I'm-gonna-kill-you look. Makoto ignored it and began to strum the chords for the song. I'm waiting was a beautiful song. It was about a girl who went away for a long time and a guy who stood by and waited for the girl to return.
The detectives could tell that Makoto had poured his heart out in this song. They wondered why Torii didn't choose to sing it. Sakura was just about to ask, but then Makoto answered her question for her.
"Torii didn't want to sing it because…I wrote this for another girl many years ago," he whispered. He put away his guitar after he finished the song, not looking at the two listening. "But it was our best song, I thought we had no choice." He scratched his head, nervously. "I guess it was stupid of me to tell her about the song."
"Whom did you write the song for?" Sakura tried pushing her way through Sasuke. He was blocking her way.
Makoto looked both ways and then whispered, "It is a secret…"
"What about her moves?" Sasuke decided to take over answering the questions. He didn't like the way Sakura gushed at Makoto's every word. "Is she a cheerleader? Did she take dance classes? I've never seen moves like those before."
The blonde singer chuckled. "Actually, she surprised us with that as well."
Both Sakura and Sasuke frowned. "What did he mean by that?" they thought.
Makoto stood up and sighed. "If you guys can excuse me, I have a lot of work to do."
"Wait, Makoto-san." She held on to his sleeve, ignoring the frown on her partner's face. "Do you know where we can find Aya-san? We can't seem to find her anywhere."
Makoto gave Sakura a strange look. "What are you talking about? She's right here."
Sasuke looked around. It didn't take him long to find her. He never noticed her before because he was too busy keeping an eye on Hanabishi. Suzuki Aya looked different that day. It was a good thing that he saw her picture earlier or else he wouldn't believe what he was seeing.
Aya was on top of a ladder decorating the stage for the performance the band was going to make that night. They were going to hold a concert for the memorial of Uta Torii. Aya didn't have her fake glasses on anymore or the retainers or wearing clothes three times her size. She was wearing form-fitting pants, showing off her incredibly long legs and sleeve-less blouse.
Sakura's jaw dropped, literally.
"Didn't you see her elementary school photograph?" I whispered to her, after seeing the shocked expression on her face.
"Yes, I did but I thought they gave it to me by mistake. I didn't know that it was really her photograph," she whispered back.
It was understandable. Nobody would have guessed that this beautiful lady was once considered an old lady and inconspicuous. Right now, Suzuki Aya could stop traffic.
Sasuke was about to ask Makoto another question, but then he noticed that he had another one of those faraway looks on his face. Sasuke was curious about what it meant. Hanabishi Makoto spaced out a lot…
Suddenly, another student walked by, carrying a big load of costumes in his arms. Poor kid couldn't see where he was going. Makoto woke up from his trance. He reacted quickly, "Wait! Stop! You'll knock over the lader!"
"Huh?" the student looked up but he was too late. He bumped into the ladder, causing it to sway.
"What is going on here?" Aya screamed and held on for dear life.
"Aya!" Makoto ran towards her with lightning fast speed. Aya lost her grip and fell from the ladder. She screamed at the top of her lungs. "Ah!"
Makoto had made it just in time to catch her though. He held her in his arms and cradled her, trying to comfort the now hysterical girl. She cuddled closer and began crying. Sasuke and Sakura of course tried to help but then they realized that Makoto didn't need help calming her because he was already doing a great job. Instead, they stood back and observed.
Makoto had a soft and forlorn look on his face and Aya snuggled into his embrace like it was a familiar gesture. There was something strange going on. Later, after Makoto brought Aya to the clinic to rest, he led Sakura and Sasuke to an empty classroom. They had a lot of questions now and he had no choice but to answer them.
Sakura transformed from a fangirl to a cop in a second. "Aya was the girl in the song." It was a statement and not a question.
Makoto nodded. "Yes, she is."
Sasuke groaned. "No wonder your girlfriend didn't want to sing it. It was a song for her manager!" He pulled up a chair for him and Sakura. This was going to be a long story. "I think there is more to the story than this. Now, tell us."
The blonde was hesitant at first. "I knew Aya before she met Torii. I was one of her first friends in school.' He smiled at the memory. "I guess you can say that it was love at first sight." He then leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes. "She was so beautiful. The most beautiful girl I've ever met. I was content to be her friend."
"She doesn't know yet, huh?" Sasuke snorted. He wasn't at all surprised when he nodded in reply. Just great," he thought. "Another wimpy, blonde Naruto, a guy too scared to tell a girl how he felt."
"She changed when she met Torii," he told them, sadly. "She changed her whole appearance. She said that Torii was her friend and it wasn't safe for a girl as pretty as her to walk around campus. The truth is that Torii just can't stan anybod more pretty than her. Naturally, Aya would do anything for her, a friend."
Sakura leaned forward. "But didn't the students noticed how odd it was?"
"They did for a while but then they began to get use to seeing her that way." Makoto pounded his fist on the desk, hard. "I hated it. I hated listening to all those people talk behind her back about how ugly she was." He laughed, an angry laugh. "If only those fools knew…they may have forgotten what a beauty she is but I had not and…she will always be beautiful to me…always…"
"What do you think?" Sakura asked. They were inside Sasuke's car again but this time on their way towards Sora High. "Do you think one of those two killed her?"
"Hmm…" Sasuke thought hard. He really didn't know what to think. "If I were to choose, I'd say I want Hanabishi to be the killer."
"Hey! That's not a nice thing to say!" Sakura exclaimed.
"I did not like the way you flirted with him and the way he flirted back," he admitted, angrily. "What was wrong with you in there? You were acting like one of his fangirls!"
She raised her chin. "Hmph…you're probably just jealous that I'm not a member of your fanclub and speak for yourself. You flirt with anything in skirts."
"You don't wear skirts," he teased her. "Yet, I flirt with you in almost a daily basis. And yes…I am jealous."
"Shut up," she replied and looked away. She was also blushing quite furiously.
Sasuke liked seeing her so flustered. She looked incredibly cute. "We're going to go see Ongaku Tsubasa next." He gripped the steering wheel. "I have a bad feeling about her. You felt it too, right? There is something that she's not telling us."
Sakura nodded. "Yes, I agree. There is something that she's not telling us but it doesn't meant that she is a murderer."
"Still, she is my #1 suspect though." He steered the convertible sharply to a curb. "I don't trust her…"
"But she is Hinata-chan's friend. She can't be all bad," she argued. "Maybe she has a reason to keep it a secret. We don't know all the details, Uchiha."
"Hyuuga is trying to protect her, remember?" he argued back. "And since she is trying to protect her, I don't trust that Hyuuga girl neither."
Suddenly, Sakura's phone rang. She reached into her purse to pick it up but then Sasuke grabbed her phone and picked it up himself. "Hello? Oh, it is you, dobe." Sakura knew immediately that it was Naruto. Naruto was the only person Sasuke called dobe. "What do you want?"
Sakura could faintly hear the sound of Naruto's voice. Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Yeah, we're together. What is it to you?"
Sakura tried to eavesdrop on their conversation but the sound of the engine was too loud and it killed the Naruto's voice. She leaned back, bored. A few minutes later, Sasuke hung up. "So, what did Naruto want?"
"He and Hinata are in Sora High," he replied. "He just thought that we should know." Sasuke never bothered to ask her how she knew it was Naruto. He knew she was sharp.
"I guess it would be better that way. Maybe we'll get more answers." She did not really believe it herself but she hoped. She wanted this case solved as soon as possible.
"Maybe…" Sasuke didn't look too convinced either.
"Sakura-chan, nice to see yah!" Naruto greeted her with a wide grin, completely ignoring Sasuke. "Tsubasa-chan and Hinata-chan are waiting for you inside the performance hall."
Sasuke shook his head. "I'm going to go around to investigate. Where's the girl's shadow?"
Naruto shrugged. "You mean Neji-baka? He's with Yukino, I think. Yukino volunteered to make lunch. Why?"
"No reason." He began to walk towards the opposite direction of the performance hall. "I'll meet you guys there. I have a theory and I want to know if it is correct."
"Oi, Sasuke!" Naruto called out.
"Give me ten minutes. That is all I need!" he called back, running away. He didn't give Sakura and Naruto a chance to catch up. He had some suspicions about Ongaku Tsubasa from the very beginning. All he needed was proof.
"Oi! You're Uchiha Sasuke, right!"
Sasuke stopped and looked behind him. He saw a silver-haired guy within long hair that seemed to be only a few years older than him. Sasuke couldn't say that he knew guy but it looked like the guy knew him.
"Do I know you?" he asked, cautiously.
Oh, my. I guess you don't remember me," he chuckled. "I'm Yakushi Kabuto. I was at the festival."
"Hmm…now I remember. You're from Sound High."
Kabuto nodded with a friendly smile on his face. Sasuke relaxed a bit. Yakushi Kabuto looked harmless enough. "What are you doing here is Sora High, Kabuto-san?"
"Hmmm? Me?" Kabuto asked. "Nothing much really… I'm just here to pick up something. What about you, Sasuke-san? Does this have anything to do with your investigation?"
"You know about that?" Sasuke looked at him with a surprised look. He didn't know that people knew about his investigation. Tsunade-sensei wanted to keep things as quiet as possible.
"I have my ways," Kabuto laughed, and then he took out a strange deck of cards. "What do you want to know? I might be able to help you…"
"Sasuke-kun is really taking long to get back," Hinata stammered. "I wonder if he is lost."
Naruto patted Hinata on the back. "Don't worry, Hinata-chan. Sasuke-kun will be right back. Don't you worry…"
The door of the performance hall slammed open. Sasuke stood there with an angry look on his face. "Yes, Hinata, no need to worry. Because I'm here." He looked at Tsubasa and he got even angrier. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long, Ongaku."
Tsubasa mirrored his angry look. "Not at all, Sasuke-san. I'm ready for whatever you throw at me."
"Good." Sasuke threw her a cassette tape. "I want you to play that."
"What is it?"
"You'll know…"
Tsubasa did what he said. She played the cassette on her cassette player. She froze when she heard the first few chords. "Poisoned Lady…" she whispered.
"Yes." He sat down on the empty chair nearest to Sakura. Sakura frowned at him. She wanted to ask him what he was up to but he chose to ignore it. "I want you to sing it…"
Tsubasa nodded. She had no choice but to do what he said. She got on stage and grbbed the microphone.
"By the way, Ongaku, don't forget to do the little dance that came with the song," Sasuke said. "Unless of course you can't do it."
She clenched her fists on the microphone but then did a little pose. Just like Torii's pose before she had sang that night. She mimicked it perfectly. As the first note escaped her lips, she caught her audience, spellbound. Each sway of her hips, each move of her arms did not look practiced as it did on Torii the night of the murder. It was natural grace…
Sakura gasped, finally understanding.
Tsubasa ended her performance with a dazzling pose. The same one Torii did. From start to ending, everything was the same. Except, this time it might even be better.
"The performance looks even more beautiful now that it is with the real owner, right?" Sasuke asked the audience with a note of sarcasm. He clapped his hands, mockingly. "Bravo, Ongaku."
Tsubasa didn't say anything. She just glared at him with all the hatred she could muster.
"You killed her," Sasuke sneered. "I though it was odd that you didn't start your actual career until you transferred. You were friends, weren't you? Then she didn't need you anymore."
Tsubasa looked away, unable to reply. Instead, tears fell from her eyes.
"She probably stopped you when you were in elementary school. She couldn't stand the thought of somebody more talented than her," he continued. "She did that with Suzuki Aya too…" He threw her a yearbook. It was a yearbook with the picture of her and Torii in their elementary school years. "I found this picture after some research in the library. From the way you two stuck together, I can tell that you were friends."
Tsubasa dropped to the floor and burst into tears. Hinata was about to go to comfort her but Naruto stopped her. "She was my whole life," she finally admitted. "I thought she was my best friend! I trusted her!" She kicked the microphone stand. The microphone was still in her hands but she let it roll away on the stage. "I was so happy a few weeks ago, when she contacted me after all these years."
"Tell me the truth, Tsubasa." Sasuke folded his arms in front of him. "Tell me…"
Tsubasa looked away, indignantly. "You want to know the truth? Then I'll tell you… I do have a reason to hate… and kill Torii…"
"Tsubasa-chan, no!" Hinata cried out, only to be held back by Naruto. "You can't tell them that!"
Tsubasa ignored her. "Uta Torii didn't write Poisoned Lady." There was a collection of gasps and whispers but Tsubasa didn't seem to care anymore. "She didn't write it…because I did…"
"You didn't know that she was joining the contest, did you?" Sakura asked.
"She never even mentioned it!" The angry singer screamed. "I showed her my performance and imagine the shock I had to see it as part of Cloud High's entry saying, by Uta Torii." She laughed. "I worked hard on that song! It took me three months to perfect. I wrote a song in one afternoon, you know?"
"I wouldn't be really surprised," the black-haired detective drawled. "The reports say that you're an impulsive writer. You can write anything in a matter of minutes."
"Yes, How could you was written on the same day as the contest. It took a while but we gave a good performance despite the lack of practice," she muttered. "It would have been better if we had the Poisoned Lady." She looked up to Sasuke. "Your suspicions and accusations have been right up to this point, Uchiha. But you are wrong about one thing though…"
He arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
Tsubasa forced herself to smile. "I did not kill Uta Torii, my best friend…"
Tsubame: Do you think Tsubasa is telling the truth? Did she kill Torii? Or did one of the other two suspects did it? What in the world is Yakushi Kabuto doing in Sora High?