Tsubame: This is where you really have to be careful with all the clues I'm giving and gave you. Remember every single detail. It will be helpful and it will test how sharp you really are.

Anonymous reviewer: If you are still reading this, the first thing I want to say is THANK YOU SO MUCH! -Glomp- After I read your review, I reread this story again and I realized that you were right. I am in dire need of a beta-reader. Are you available:3

Wanted: One beta-reader, just for my Naruto fics because I already have a beta-reader for my GS. I don't update that often because of school. I don't really have specific qualifications. If you are interested, please tell me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. It is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and company…

"Summer School"

By Tsubame Ongaku

Chapter 9: Haruno Sakura

Last time…

"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…"

Is this the curse, when everything is given to you?

Possible betrayal… deceit… death? It never really occurred to Sakura that there were such conditions for being so lucky. Uta Torii was not the nicest person in the world. In truth, she might even be one of the worst. She was lucky but…never learned to be grateful.

"Count your blessings…" Sakura's mother always told her. She smiled as she remembered that time when she was six years old. She spent the day with her mother shopping. She almost had a tantrum that day, when her mother wouldn't buy her a pretty fan. It was a very expensive fan… to expensive to be bought for just a fan.

Her mother had just smiled and said, "Count your blessings."

Being six years old, Sakura had not understood what her mother meant. Now she did. Sakura knew that she didn't have the most perfect parents. She only saw them at least twice a year. That didn't stop them from trying though. Whenever they do visit her, they would give Sakura 110 of their time. She was grateful for at least that…

Sakura loved her parents very much…she never once thought of herself unfortunate.

"Do you believe her?" Sakura whispered, to her very silent companion. Sasuke hadn't said a thing since Tsubasa made her announcement. "Do you really believe that Tsubasa-chan killed her?" They had already left Sora High and were on their way back to Konoha. Honestly, Sakura wanted very much to believe in Tsubasa but all evidence of the murder pointed to her.

What is she going to do?

"Truthfully, Sakura, I just don't know…" Sasuke admitted. "There are a lot of things in this case that I just don't understand." He made a sharp U-turn. He was driving at a frightening speed, two times the speed he drove earlier. He was angry…and this is his way of calming himself.

He didn't really care that he could probably hit a car any minute but he was an expert driver. Sakura was whimpering and praying that they returned to Konoha alive and in one piece. After this, she was never going to get in a car with Uchiha Sasuke ever again. That is if she survived this drive.

"Slow down, Sasuke!" Sakura screamed. "You're going too fast and I don't want to die yet!" She was wearing her seatbelt very tightly and covered her eyes as swerved from one lane to another. She was relieved there were not many cars on the road now. "What in the world is your problem?"

Sasuke ignored her and accelerated even more. Sakura gave a little screech but he didn't pay any heed. He was beginning to hate this case more and more. He couldn't stop thinking about how despicable it was if Torii had been killed by one of these people.

He could never imagine Naruto betraying him. The guy was an idiot but loyal to a fault. He had proven himself to Sasuke numerous times. Sasuke remembered the times he got himself into a fight and even though he clearly could handle it himself, Naruto joined in. Sasuke asked him, "why?" Naruto replied with one of his wide grins and said, "We have bond though I know you're never going to admit it, stupid."

Bonds? Did Torii have these bonds with these people?

"What are you thinking about?" Sakura managed to force herself to say. She had been worried about him since they left Sora. "You seem to be deep in thought. Care to share those thoughts with me?" She screeched when Sasuke again swerved in another curve. "Before you get us both killed."

Where were the traffic officers when you needed them?

"Would you just relax?" He made another sharp turn and this time Sakura couldn't hold her scream. "I have everything under control."

Sakura held on to the car handle for dear life. "Are you even old enough to drive like this?"

Sasuke just grinned and said, "No." He didn't look at all repentant with that admission. "Aww…don't tell me you're scared, Sakura. Or maybe you're worried about breaking my neck."

She shook her head, frustrated. "I thought so." Then frowned and stuck out her tongue. "I'm too worried about breaking my neck to worry about yours. Thank you very much."

"So what is the plan?" Sasuke asked her. "We need to solve this quick. I have a fight with the kid from Sand to look forward to. I heard he's strong."

Sakura sighed. "Men," she thought. "All they ever think about is fighting." She tried to enjoy the scenery outside her window instead since Sasuke wasn't going to listen to her about slowing down. "Who killed you, Torii-san?"

"A brush?" Sasuke and Sakura chorused. They were back in school again and were being briefed by the investigation's inspector about the recent findings.

"Yes," the inspector nodded. "We found it among the victim's belongings and it is riddled with cyanide." He showed them a clear plastic bag. "The odd thing is, according to the people we interviewed, this brush didn't belong to the victim."

"What made them say that?" Sakura asked. She reached out and took the bag from the inspector. "Did you check it for fingerprints already?"

The inspector nodded again. "Yes, this guy is smart. There are no traces of fingerprints other than the victim's." Then he pointed to the handle of the brush. "See the handle? It is not one of the branded brushes she usually bought. It is just one of those that you can buy anywhere…"

"…and Torii never bought anything common?" Sasuke finished for him. He saw the inspector nod and the young boy snorted. "Figures."

"So this brush isn't hers?" she gave it to her partner and it became his turn to inspect it. "The question now is…where did she get it, if it wasn't hers?"

The man sighed. "We don't know. We're still trying to trace where this was bought but that search is not taking us anywhere."

"Good work," Sasuke said, tossing his back the brush. "Let's go, Sakura. We still have to meet meet up with Tsunade-sensei."

Sakura frowned at his indifference and rudeness. She smiled apologetically at the inspector before finally following Sasuke out. Once outside, she let him know exactly what she thought. "Sasuke, you pig! That was rude of you to treat him like that. He's helping us with the case."

Sasuke just snorted again. "We can't all be sweet and polite as you during a case." He stopped and grabbed her hand. "I have a lot on my mind and I don't have time to think about how I'm hurting that guy's feelings." He kissed the back of her hand and grinned, impishly. "You understand, don't you, princess?"

She ground her teeth. "Don't call me princess." She looked at the clock. "What time were we supposed to meet Naruto and Hinata again?"

"Hmmm…in a half hour." He shrugged.

"I have a question to ask, Sasuke."

"What's that?"

"Yamanaka Ino is Naruto's girlfriend, right?" She snatched her hand away from his grip. "Why is it that he's around Hinata-chan more than his own girlfriend? I don't get it." She folded her arms in front of her "I know that Naruto likes her but what is the point of having Ino as a girlfriend if he's more interested in her bestfriend. That is just looking for trouble. Don't you agree?"

Sasuke just shrugged. The reason for Naruto's actions never really bothered him before. It was not going to bother him now. "How am I supposed to know what is going on inside that dobe's head?" He sighed. "I dated Yamanaka before and she wasn't so bad. She was one of those girlfriend's of mine who lasted a week at least."

"Oh, really?" Sakura's mood suddenly became dark.

Sasuke didn't notice. "Yeah, I didn't keep her though because she was too clingy for me." Without warning, Sakura threw him a punch right on the cheek.

"Ouch! What was that for?" he demanded.

Instead of sticking around, she held her head and walked away. Sasuke held his swollen cheek, annoyed with happened but then smiled. There was only one reason he could think of for that punch. He grinned wider than before now realizing it. She was jealous….

"Why did I do that?" Sakura thought, frantically. She tugged her long pink hair as her cheeks changed into the same color. "Now he is going to think I'm jealous, when I'm absolutely not! Who'd like a playboy like him? So stupid!" Then she stopped. She realized that she had no idea where she was going. As much as she hated the egotistic playboy at that moment, she needed him. "I better wait for him… or maybe it will be batter if I went back."

She was about to go back, when she suddenly felt someone put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you Haruno Sakura?" She heard someone say. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

Sakura shrugged the hand away and was surprised to come face to face with a smiling brunette teen. He looked like he was about her age. He was good-looking in his own way. He had dark hair and eyes like Sasuke's but there was just something about his smile that sent strange shivers down her spine.

It was a forced smile…

He must have noticed her surprise because he suddenly chuckled, then took her hand in his and kissed it. "Hi, I'm Sai. I'm really sorry to have frightened you"

Sakura stared at him for a while. She could definitely tell that this was a forced smile. She couldn't help ask to herself why.

"See something you like?" he teased. She blushed again as she looked away. Why is it that the guys were suddenly in a mood to make her blush? She decided that maybe it would be better if she just walked away. "Hay! Don't go," he said. "I was just teasing you…"

"It is nice to meet you, Sai. Really…but I'm busy right now. Could you bothe ---I mean…can we talk another time?"

"Where are you going? Let me tag along!"

"What are you doing here, Sai?" a voice demanded, he then felt someone grab the collar of his shirt. Sai could recognize that voice anywhere.

"Nice to see you again, Sasuke!" Sai replied, cheerfully. Sasuke clenched his collar tighter. Sai was amused. "Is this anyway to treat your…cousin?"

"He's your cousin?" She exclaimed, clearly bewildered. She supposed that maybe it would make sense since they looked so much alike. Except…

Sasuke's smile is more sincere…

"I will ask you one more time. What are you doing here, stupid?" Sasuke sneered. It was so vile that it even sent shivers of fear down Sakura's spine too. From the looks of it, Sasuke didn't get along with his cousin very much. "Well? Aren't you going to tell me or do I have to beat you up for it? Believe me, it will be my pleasure."

Sai's smile didn't waver. On the contrary, it grew broader, as he waved his hands in front of him. "Hey! I come in peace." He shrugged, then said, "Tsunade-sensei thought that you might need my help in this case. After all, I have more experience with murder cases. You're just a rookie."

"Why you…"

"Uchiha-san, you better not start a fight. Not here," Sakura warned, her voice ice-cold.

Sasuke clenched his fists and understood. "I'll behave…but I won't like it."

Sai grinned, devilishly. "Thank you so much, Sakura-chan. You're my guardian angel." He gave her a big bear hug and then suddenly brushed his lips lightly on hers. Sakura blushed yet again. "Wahh! Sakura-chan is so cute when she blushes!"

Sasuke flexed his knuckles, looking very angry indeed. "That's the last----"

"So here you three are! We've been looking for you!"

"Kakashi-sensei!" she cried with relief. Sasuke wouldn't cause trouble in front of a teacher…or would he?

"Kakashi-baka. You're late again I see…"

He would…

Kakashi-sensei didn't seem to mind though. You could still see the smile behind his mask. "Nice to see you too, Sasuke-kun. What is with the bad mood?" He turned to Sai and tsked-tsked. "Sai-kun, you haven't been teasing our little Sasuke-kun again, have you?"

Sai chuckled. "Maybe… a little."

"Are there any normal people in this school?"

"So…what do you got?"

Sai, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi-sensei were now in the visitor's lounge. But the room was empty except for them. They gave Sai the 411 on the case so far. During that time, Sakura noticed that Sai's smile had faded. He was deep in concentration

Sakura was so engrossed on his face that she didn't notice that Kakashi-sensei was observing her. "Sakura-chan?"

"Yes," she replied, not taking her eyes off Sai.

"Sai-kun can be an idiot sometimes but he's really a nice guy. He is really serious during his cases. See that drawing pad by him?" Her eyes followed to the spot where Kakashi-sensei was pointing. Sure enough, tucked in his sling bag was a large drawing pad. "In every case he has, he always draws a portrait of the victim. He says it was like he was giving back life to the person through his art."

"Really?"

The teacher nodded. "He is a good guy but a little troublemaker sometimes but still good. He just likes to tease Sasuke and…" he turned to her. "Interesting girls."

She grinned. "Then I shouldn't have any problems, right?"

Kakashi smiled with her but he wasn't sure about what she was thinking. He knew very well that to those two young men, Haruno Sakura was more interesting than she thought.

"Sai-san, may I see your drawings please?" pointing to the drawing pad.

Sai smiled lightly, not really listening. He was too busy thinking about the case. "Sai-san? Why so formal, Sakura-chan?" He kissed the back of her hand. "Please I insist that you call me Sai and sure you can borrow it, but take care of that."

"Yes." She took the drawing pad and proceeded to browse. She was amazed by Sai's talent in art because inside were perfect-looking portraits. There were many of young women, all very beautiful and all were smiling happily. But what really caught her attention was first page. It was a portrait of a very handsome man.

Light colored hair, Sakura wasn't sure of the color because it was in black and white. The man was smiling widely. He seemed to be happy about something. There was something about the portrait. It somehow seemed different from the rest.

Under the portrait said, "1986-2005"

"This was Sai-san's saddest case. He found the killer but I don't think he ever got over it." Kakashi felt it was only right to tell everything about Sai. He was going to be sticking around for a while.

"Who is he?"

"He's Sai's brother…he was murdered by his brother's bestfriend."

Sakura was shocked to hear that. "But, Kakashi-sensei! They look nothing alike…"

"He was his adoptive older brother. They were close because their parents were always away and they only had each other to depend on."

That was something he didn't expect from him. He was always so carefree. But was that a mask? Like that smile of his? Which is real?

She pulled on her hair. What was she doing? She should be looking for the killer! Why was she going all concerned for guy. He was just a guy. It was none of her business…

But as she though that, she couldn't help wondering if he was lonely.

On the last page, Sakura was squealed. "Hinata-chan? You drew Hinata-chan so perfectly!"

"Hinata? Hinata who?" Sai asked, still a bit distracted. "Hyuuga Hinata. The daughter of the owner of Hyuuga Industries."

"Really I never really noticed? What page is that in?"

"The last page."

Sai froze. Are you sure? I could have sworn I drew Torii-san on that page."

Sakura frowned. If this was supposed to be Uta Torii, Sakura had to say that she looked incredibly too much like Hinata. She thought that except for the hair and eye color, they could be twins. But since the portrait was done in black and white it was like looking at the live person than the dead one.

"Where's Hinata-chan, by the way." Kakashi-sensei asked. "I haven't seen her since the murder."

Sasuke shrugged. "She should be with Ongaku and that dobe. Ongaku has to prepare for the performance she'll have at the closing ceremony."

"You mean she was picked?" Sakura clasped her hands in delight. "That is so cool! We have to send her our congratulations."

But Sasuke only frowned. "She's only the replacement since the star was murdered. I don't think this is something she'd like to be congratulated of."

Sakura spirit went down. It must have been sad for Tsubasa to always come in second to that selfish person. Then again, she didn't know Torii was selfish until the contest. It just wasn't fair… Tsubasa obviously had more talent than her.

Suddenly, something caught Sakura's eye. There was something trapped between the pages of the drawing pad. "Sai, what is this?"

"Hmmm?" Sai looked up. He saw what she was pointing and shrugged. "I asked Suzuki-chan for a picture of Torii for my drawing. She gave me that. She took it at the night she was killed. I asked her for her most recent picture."

There was something wrong with that picture. Sakura just couldn't put her finger on it.

"What do you have there, Haruno?" Sasuke had suddenly appeared behind her.

She gasped and turned towards him. "Stop that! You almost gave me a heart attack," she scolded him, then turned her attention back to the picture. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary picture.

You could see Torii very clearly. It was amazing how Sai had perfectly replicated her profile. From the top of her long, flowing hair, big bright eyes and the small and… somehow…sinister smile. It was perfectly replicated. But she had no time to admire Sai's handiwork for the moment. What really got her attention is what was in the background…

She saw Naruto, Hinata and Neji together. She and Sasuke of course were there and fighting but that wasn't unusual. Tsubasa was with her band by Torii; Aya and Makoto were together by the sidelines and holding each other's hands. Something wasn't right. This was taken sometime before the official contest began.

According to autopsy, the poison took its effect a few minutes before the contest. If that was the case, how could that be when all the suspects are accounted for?

This case was getting more and more complicated by the second. What was wrong with that picture? Something wasn't right, something bothersome; something was…missing.

Sakura suddenly gasped, attracting the attention of the three males. "Guys! I want you to call Hinata-chan and the others. I think I understand what had happened!" She began to run for the door, wondering why the thought had never occurred to her before.

Sasuke moved without thinking. He grabbed her hand and turned her towards him, having her meet him eye-toeye. "Sakura, I don't understand."

She pressed the picture to his face, almost frantically. "Look at this carefully! I mean… really carefully! Tell me what is wrong with it."

Sasuke did as he was told and scanned the picture. It looked like an ordinary picture to him.

"Look beside Hinata-chan…"

This time it was Sasuke who gasped. "Then all this time…"

"Yes," Sakura replied, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "We have to get to Hinata-chan and quick!"

"We have to ask Hinata-chan, if she went to the bathroom… before the contest began."

"Sakura-chan, Sasuke-kun? I don't understand… why are we here?" Hinata was stammering again. She had came immediately after receiving the call from Kakashi-sensei. She sat next of Naruto with a head tucked on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry for bothering you again, Hinata-chan, but I think we solved the case," Sakura told her, bluntly. She really was sorry. What she was going to reveal was going to shake the very foundations of her beliefs and life. This was going to hurt this sweet girl a lot.

She didn't want to do it but she had to. They had to collect justice, they had to bring the killer down and they had to protect her.

"We believe that we know who killed Uta Torii and what had really happened." Sasuke was waving the picture in the air. His face as usual was serious and didn't give out any clues at all of how he felt.

Tsubasa sat restlessly beside Neji. Neji was keeping a hawk's eye on Hinata, since Hinata was sitting so close to Naruto. Sai who also understood the case now after discussing it with his fellow detectives, leaned against the wall beside his stoic cousin. He still had the smile on his face even after knowing the full details.

It almost made Sasuke's teeth grind, seeing that smile on his face. But he couldn't show emotion just yet. He'll beat the guy up later.

"Tell us who it is already!" Naruto shouted. "Why are you keeping us in suspense?"

"Because…this is… a sad case indeed…" Sai answered for both of them.

Tsubame: After all these months the case will finally be solved! Watch out for the next chapter! Who killed her? This is your last chance to guess who did it!

I'm sorry if I will update slower than usual because of school. I'm very busy. -sigh- I hope you guys understand and I hope you enjoy the case so far.