CHAPTER SEVEN
In our midst part-4
Tenten and Sakura went grocery shopping the next day, chatting away about several topics from trivial gossip to the ongoing murder investigations. So far, neither the medical team no the police force had found anything helpful. There hadn't been a murder for the past three days so there was no new incident to draw clues from. The two young women stopped at a farmer's stand to buy some fresh vegetables.
"They say it's the Akatsuki"
Tenten was distracted from her thoughts by the owner of the stall. She put down a large onion she was checking out and faced him.
"Akatsuki?"
"Yes, some people say the Akatsuki is taking revenge on Konoha. That they're the ones killing all these people"
Tenten was caught by surprise with the man's words. This was the first time she was hearing the rumour.
"You ladies know about the Akatsuki right? You're shinobi aren't you?"
"Y-yes, we are but-"
"So is it true? Has the Akatsuki returned?"
"Sir, I don't know, I really don't"
She handed him the onion she had been studying for a while for him to package.
"Us common folk are getting scared you know. We haven't felt this unsafe in years" the man said, handing her the vegetables she wanted to buy.
"Sir, I don't know exactly who's responsible for all this but I promise you we will bring them to justice" Tenten declared solemnly while handing him some cash. "You can keep the change"
"I'm sure you shinobi are doing your best, even with all the recent casualties" the shopkeeper said with a small smile across his face. "I believe in you, young lady. If anyone's going to save this village it's definitely going to be my new favourite customer"
Tenten flashed him a wide as she was leaving the food stand. "You can count on that papa" she said, waving him goodbye.
Satisfied with her purchases, Tenten crossed the street and stood by a lamp pole, waiting. She didn't have to wait for long though, as Sakura joined her shortly
"Got everything?"
Tenten nodded and showed her friend the items she bought. "Lets head back to the hospital"
Ten minutes later, the pair arrived at the hospital to find Hinata waiting for them at the entrance. They waved a greeting at her and walked up to her.
"Good to see you Hinata" Sakura smiled at her dark haired friend.
"Sakura, Tenten, thanks again for helping me with shopping. I really appreciate it" Hinata said with a small bow.
"Come on, it's nothing. You'd do the same for us, it's what friends are for" Tenten laughed at the Hyuuga, handing her some of the groceries.
"Come on, let's head inside" Sakura walked inside the building both Kunoichi in tow.
Two hours later
"That would be everything Hinata, you're free to leave" Sakura said, placing her medical equipment on a tray nearby. "Once again, thanks for agreeing to do this, I can't explain much we need blood donations around here"
"Well I'm glad to help Sakura"
The pair were interrupted by a third presence in the room. "Miss Sakura, everything is as you asked, all the recent donations have been tagged and stored"
Sakura turned to the new face and flashed the dark haired woman a smile in commendation. "Thanks for helping me out Mikasa". She indicated a bag with Hinata's blood and continued "We have some new donations coming in today, but I can organize them myself"
"No problem miss I'll handle it. Also, Lady Shizune would like to speak to you soon"
Sakura checked her watch and replied Shizune's lab attendant without looking up, "Tell her I'll be there in a few moments"
The woman exited the room with her statement. Hinata pulled down her sleeve and got down from the hospital bed.
"I better head back to work then" she said, reaching for her stuff.
"How is work by the way, Hinata?"
Hinata shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "All I can say is I never knew protecting the village required so much paperwork" she said with a small laugh
"You get used to it" Sakura handed her friend a white bracelet with a red cross on it. "Here, have this"
"What is it?" Hinata asked, taking the bracelet from Sakura
"It's just what we give to blood donors, hospital policy"
"Oh" Hinata said looking down at the bracelet and wearing it. "It's really cute though"
"It is? I don't see it if I'm being honest" Sakura said with a laugh, her hand subconsciously reaching for her own wrist to feel the black bracelet she had on, hidden by her lab coat's sleeve. Her mind went back to the person that gifted her the jewelry.
"Sasuke-kun?"
Sakura was startled by Hinata's words, and she looked over her shoulder not knowing what she was expecting to come across other than the empty space that stared back at her.
"That bracelet, it's a gift from Sasuke right?" Hinata gestured at the jewelry Sakura was trying unsuccessfully to hide.
"Yes, it is" Sakura confirmed, her cheeks tinged with pink. Hinata placed a hand on her friend's own.
"I'm sure he misses you too, Sakura"
Sakura sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "I wonder if he could be of help with our investigation. I asked Kakashi if he told Sasuke what was happening but he didn't say anything"
"Who knows? He might be working behind the scenes" Hinata suggested
"Yes, that might be true….I still wish he was here though" Sakura continued, looking at her wrist.
"You'll get through this Sakura, you're strong" Hinata pulled her into an embrace with her words "I'll see you around"
"Thanks again Hinata, bye"
In the Hokage's office, Shikamaru and Shizune were in the middle of a conversation with Kakashi when Kiba and Sai entered the room. Kiba placed a stack of pictures and documents on the table and spoke to Shikamaru
"Here are the things you requested"
Shikamaru thanked him and addressed the room. "Alright guys, I want you to follow me on this" the Nara looked around the room and cleared his throat.
"One thing I picked up studying the crime scenes of all the murders is the complete absence of any signs of struggle"
"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked Shikamaru
"What I mean is whoever's killing these people is doing it without their victims fighting back at all, and they're leaving no traces of their presence behind"
"So it could be a highly trained assassin" Sai suggested.
"A shinobi, perhaps?" Kiba asked, turning his attention to Shikamaru
"For now, I can't tell. But from checking the registry I discovered that all the murders took place in locations that didn't overlap with the work areas of other ninja"
Shizune stepped forward. "So whoever is killing these women is aware of where they are deployed and when they're out of sight of their allies"
"Correct" Shikamaru commended her observation, then continued. "The killer is someone who has access to the work schedule for all the Shinobi in the village"
Kiba folded his arms before joining the conversation. "Before we start pointing fingers at each other, there's a lot of ways for a person to get access to the work register, I mean Naruto stole the forbidden scroll from the hokage's office when he was a kid"
"True" Kakashi agreed with him. "I'll tighten security in my office, plus we have to rearrange the work schedule for now, let's see if the killer makes any moves during the time period"
"That would be great Hokage-sama" Shikamaru said before continuing, "I have another theory though, but it's a wild one and I'm not sure you're ready to hear it"
"What is it?" Shizune asked Shikamaru, eyes widened with anticipation. The young man cleared his throat and spoke in a lower tone, gaze focused on Shizune
"It involves the general hospital"
Later that day, Shizune sat at her desk, deep in thought.
There's no way, no it can't possibly be true….right ?
She reached for a glass and emptied it's contents, refilling it with the bottle of liquor on her desk. Hesitantly, her eyes returned to the open document in front of her. Everything made sense now, she thought. The victims, the high level associations, the dead-end medical autopsies….. everything hinted at Shikamaru's theory being atleast plausible. Shizune downed the alcoholic drink in one shot. She was interrupted from her thoughts by a knock on the door.
"Miss Shizune?" Her lab attendant asked as she waited outside the room
Shizune put away the bottle and tried to make herself look more relaxed. "Come in Mikasa"
The door opened and the young woman stepped into the room and greeted her with a bow.
"Good afternoon lady Shizune, how's your injury?
Shizune rubbed her bandage and smiled at her assistant. "It's fine, thanks again for your help Mikasa"
Her lab attendant nodded and continued, "Miss Sakura will be coming to discuss the blood donation campaign's progress with you soon"
"Oh, okay. I'll see her in about half an hour" Shizune replied.
"Alright, I'll let her know" with that Mikasa turned to leave the room but she was stopped by Shizune.
"Mikasa, take the rest of the day off. Tomorrow too. No questions, just go get some rest. We might be a bit short staffed in the coming weeks and I don't want you getting burned out from exhaustion"
"Thank you Shizune"
As the door closed behind her lab attendant, Shizune went over the documents one more time. Her mind went back to her last conversation with Shikamaru
All the victims were blood donors at the general hospital.
He claimed he was ten percent certain, but his suspicion brought them closer to catching the killer than they had gotten thus far.
Her mind jolted as she heard a knock on her door. She looked at her clock and found out thirty minutes had already passed.
Punctual to a fault, that girl, Shizune thought. Then she took a deep breath and let in Shikamaru's chief suspect into the room
"Come in Sakura".