NightDREAMERms: Hey ppls. I wanna apologize profusely for the tardiness of this chapter! And its not even the whole thing! It got too long so I had to split it up, AGAIN... This party's already lasted what two, three chapters long? Part of the reason for the lateness of this chapter is cause I was really sick; shots, pills, ultrasounds, the works. Seriously, by the end of last month, my parents didn't even have to show their ID's to sign me out of school or into the doctor's office, they knew the people by name. But most of it I'll blame on my own procrastination. Anyways, here is where the interrogation starts. Important information and better insight to my little A.U. world is provided here, (by who else but Ino, the gossip queen!). But most of this is just interrogation. It's uh… pretty long… if that makes up for anything…
I'm skipping the "Speaking" -formalities, you know it all!
Late Revenge: Chapter 14
The Mystery yet to be Solved:
"Couldn't they have just escaped by themselves? They're bugs right?" an unhooded boy yawned, eyes half-lidded and body in an unbalanced crouch position, clearly unbothered by the newest turn of events.
The room currently occupied seven people including herself. Most of which were on-edge in either suspicion (71) or of nerves (14, a.k.a. just her). The last seventh was made completely out of the unabashed boredom that was Kiba.
Now that she thought about it, Kiba and Akamaru had never had a very good "relationship" with Shino's bugs. What with the accidental drowning of one colony of insects (by dog urine) and the subsequent overnight flea and tick attack, Sakura was surprised the two forces had yet to officially declare war on another.
Akamaru had propped his owner fully up minutes before as if he wished to inform him of something, but it turned out that all that he wanted was to relieve himself. Back then for a split-second, Sakura's heart had frozen. How could she have forgotten about Dog-boy and Boy-dog's inhumanely strengthen and acute senses?! Easily they'd be able to sniff out the culprit, especially with her sitting right there in the room with them(And it wasn't as if she could just get up and leave without looking incredibly suspicious). …Well, she wasn't so sure about Kiba's abilities… She'd only been with the insects for a couple of minutes and she hadn't even really touched them. But Aka definitely! She had pulled her knees up to her chest nervously when the dog detective was called upon. Her mind rocketing to produce some kind of alibi.
Luckily, Akamasu simply trotted over to where the bottle was being held by Shikamaru, the subconsciously-proclaimed leader of the investigation, sniffed it twice, glanced around the room, scratched his left ear with his paw and strode out into the hallway leading to the kitchens.
Hmm… maybe it wasn't so much luck as it was vengeance…
"But that's not the problem here." Tenten interjected bringing Sakura out of her reminiscing. She had missed part of the conversation being held around her but could soundly guess the she was speaking of the bugs. The brunette was sitting cross-legged atop her sleeping mat, hair still in tangles from the last night. Not that Sakura, herself, looked much better. Her bed-head was notorious (said to resemble a cross between a spray painted pink hedgehog and "Big Foot's Mom") and with all the tossing and turning she did late this morning to listen in on her group's conversation she was sure to be throned the wild-hair queen of the household. Where was her freaking hair tie?
"The fact that someone snuck in here to steal one our personal belongings, specifically, is. Someone who knew more than the average burglar." Shikamaru ended for her in an uncharacteristically earnest tone. He was twirling the "evidence" on his index finger. Show off.
"Sounds like someone's already figured it all out, eh Shika?" The blonde to his right elbowed him in the side, smile and eyes glinting.
Sakura forced her body to stay calm as Shika's eyes casually flickered over all the faces of the room, hers included.
Another twirl. "Possibly."
And for Shikamaru Nara "Possibly" meant about 85 ("Probably" being a 99.99) which indirectly meant Crapfor her.
Several different pairs of footsteps echoed down the hall and all of the sitting conscious teens turned to face the group of six that had gone in search of more clues at the crime scene.
Crime scene. Sakura rocked albeit in her Indian-led position trying her best to hide her amusement. There was just something about knowing more about a secret everyone else, around you was trying to uncover that left a giddy resonance…
Of course, that feeling only remained there as long as you weren't one of the suspects. And thanks to the fact that she went to a freaking Ninja high school she doubted that would last much longer.
"Nothing." Naruto announced, plopping back down onto his sleeping bag making it swish loudly. "Nothing at all."
"Except that a couple room doors along the same hall were open, when they weren't yesterday evening, and the room Aburame's beetles were in was practically trashed." Sasuke interjected, giving the lounging blond a look.
Naruto simply waved an unworried arm, "Uh- Yeah, besides that junk."
"Nothing else was stolen or is missing?"
"Nothing." Sasuke retorted shortly.
"And were any of the exits or entrances, public or private left ajar, even partly?"
This time it was Hinata who answered. "No. None that Neji or I saw with Byakugan. Right, Neji?"
Neji nodded. "They were all secure."
"Okay." Shikamaru sighed, un-furrowing his forehead. "I have enough information to at least acknowledge that this was an inside job."
This statement brought around a shift of shock for most of the room (paranoia for poor Sakura who subsequently halted her movements) and a few feminine gasps but it was Tenten who sputtered aloud what they were all thinking. "A-An inside job? Like one of us?!" Tenten sputtered.
"As much as I hate to say it. A lot of evidence points that way." She could of sworn Shikamaru's pupils had deflected into her own for half-a-second.
Ooh. There it went. Giddy feeling gone.
"But," Shika continued in a considerably lighter tone seemingly unbothered by the transfer of distrustful glances between the group before him. "A major key to the crime also points away."
The pineapple-headed genius let out another loud resigning sigh before sitting up out of his slouching form. He stared them down. "Look. I've known you all since longer than forever and I'll take your word for it if you say you didn't so it. If you took the beetles for a little prank or something(At this point he sent a sideways glance to Kiba (Hah! He was a suspect!)), raise your hand and tell us so we don't have to go through this entire investigation."
By now everyone had formed a misshaped circle around the empty enter of the room. From Ino to Shikamaru to Naruto to Hinata to the SasuKari to Neji to Tenten (to the still sleeping Lee. He must sleep like a rock! (no pun intended)) to Chouji to Kiba and to finally Shino, no one budged an inch.
Sakura, on the other hand, felt her hand twitching involuntarily.
She sat on it.
Shikamaru swept his dark brown gaze across the room. "No one? No one's confessing. Okay, then." he threw the bottle in the air and balanced it on his middle finger. She was certain she heard him mutter "…troublesome...". But, she figured he must actually like doing these kind of things. Otherwise, he would've just proclaimed the entire situation too complex and went back to sleep.
Actually… the whole group must like this "mystery-detective" stuff. Shino had more bugs!
"Let's start with what we know for sure. One," His index (not balancing the bottle) shot up. "Whoever stole Shino's property knew enough about him and this group to know that Shino only ever fully takes his bugs off when he's swimming in chlorine water, which he rarely does, or attending any kind of sleepover Tenten is present at."
The brunette blushed in embarrassment at the mention of her name as several in the room turned to her.
"Two, this person had a single purpose: To take the beetles. As Kiba can probably inform you this bottle never held the beetles, indicating that this is a replacement bottle was brought specifically for the crime. Kiba." He tossed the bottle to the squatting boy, who in his early morning drudge, almost toppled over whilst catching the container.
"Yeah. There's no bug or Shino scent at all on it." he answered once examining the jar.
"We can also safely rule out the possibility of the thief being a professional. If a hired crook-"
Who would pay someone to steal teeny-tiny bugs? Better yet, who would take the job. … Oh wait. That was her.
"-had performed this crime they would've at least made it resemble a burglary and wrecked or stolen a few other items as well. But this person only took what they wanted, sloppily; leaving all points of entry wide open."
Well, Hello. She had been intoxicated!(Not intentionally but intoxicated nonetheless.)
"Had they entered the house after the party was evacuated more than likely a door or window would have been left at least unlocked."
"Based on that, we can also deduct that the thief was present at the party whether invited or not. The only hole in this crime I see is: Where's the motive?" His lethargic pupils traveled to Shino's sunglassed ones. "You don't have any enemies, do you Shino? Anyone who would profit from upsetting you or obtaining your clan's signature tool?"
Shino began to shake his head, but Chouji, who, realizing the seriousness of the occasion, had traded out his noisy chips for a frozen red and blue ice pop (or… maybe he just noticed how hot it was) interrupted after a noiseless slurp. "Oi. What about that guy at the karaoke place." he glanced to Sakura. "You weren't there."
'Oh really?' She cocked an angry eyebrow. 'Thanks for the Reminder, Chou!' She had already missed so much in a such a little time frame. And now even the suspect in the crime she committed? She could scream!
And whose Uchiha-assed fault was all of this? Hate you, Itachi.
Tenten snapped her fingers once again jolting Sakura out of her ponderings. "Yeah that guy who lost that contest against you was really pissed off, Shino! Tch. Sore loser." She commented degradingly, as if anytime somebody beat her highscore in darts she didn't throw a major tantrum (Only subsiding when she re-beat their score).
"Well the guy did get booed off stage. After all that boasting, you'd think he'd be at least mediocre." Naruto piped back into the conversation. "Wait!-wait- didn't he say he'd 'get Shino back'?" he ended with a air quotes and a snort despite the atmosphere. Well, she had to admit, the Karaoke-guy's ending sentiments were a bit too cliché.
"Oh, yeah! His face was stark red." Ino recalled from the detective's other side. "But he didn't seem like the type that would hold a grudge…" she added thoughtfully. "More of an All-talk No-action person."
"Yes." Shikamaru murmured, eyes cast low yet bright, ignoring his female friend's last comments. Thought were whirling in his mind a mile a minute. "Yes, this makes perfect sense. He appeared to be the right age to attend Konoha High as well, and with the truckload of people who came here could've slipped in, if not already invited, unnoticed."
"And no one checked to see if everyone had really left after Karin kicked everyone out." Hinata interjected, hopefully. "He could easily hid in the pantry or some similar deed."
Sakura couldn't deny that she felt albeit like she was in some giant twisted game of Clue. Was it Kiba with Akamaru into the living room? Was it the Karaoke-dude with the mike on the second floor? No, silly! It was a drunk Sakura with a sharpie in the closet!
Nonetheless, she looked on as they continued affirming their suspicions, trying to resemble someone who was too consumed in mentally figuring out the crime to join in, but it was getting harder and harder to resist the urge to smile. They were totally on the wrong track (and were still going!) She was safe!
…And then. The worst possible thing at that moment had to happen.
They remembered Lee.
It was his sleep bag-neighbor who first noticed his lack of conversation near the end of the "game". It wasn't hard to forget the green blob in the corner who, contrary to popular belief, didn't utter a sound in his sleep(Well… fully asleep, in anyway). She delivered a cheery "Let's ask Lee" before turning to her companion on the left before and proceeding to shake the living daylights out of the poor boy.
"LEE! Wake up!"
All poor Sakura could do was mentally scream the negative and look on helplessly.
Groggily whilst rubbing an eye (And looking normal as ever. Inner Sakura must have really been telling the truth.), he regained consciousness. "Hmm….? Gai-sensei? Is it already time for youthful Morning Training?"
"Lee, do you know anything about Shino's bugs? They were stolen last night. Did you see anyone suspicious?" Tenten continued both releasing him from her hold and disregarding his first sentiments as if she was used to it. Sakura couldn't help but cringe at the s-word, she preferred the term "Borrowed".
…with no intention of return.
And unfortunately, Deidara's logic wouldn't help her conscious this time.
Still not fully into it, the bowl-haired youth yawned soundlessly shaking his head. But then of course, just as Sakura believed she might have a chance, he became a bit more alert and looked over to her. She froze instantly. "Did you see anything, Sakura-san when you were up last night?"
Dang it.
As if someone had hit a trick wire alarm, Shikamaru's head jerked up and his chin swerved straight to her. "You were up last night, Sakura?"
Stop being so freakin' smart all the time, Shika! Actress-mode setting up her features, she proceeded to play the innocent act and frowned delicately at Lee. "What are you talking about, Lee? I never got up."
Lee blinked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion, mirroring her expression. "But I was sure… it all seemed so real." He ran a finger atop his bottom lip smiling dazedly. "Especially the kis-"
"Hey look! Isn't that that football you guys lost yesterday?" Sakura interrupted abruptly, cheeks bursting in extreme cherry-apple red. Yes, changing the subject made her seem even more suspicious. No, she did not care. For this very moment, Screw the mission. Her dignity was at stake! Her hand was gesturing out the window she had thrown it out the night before. Or at least thought it was. Please, please!
At first the green-clad ninja was surprised by her random interjection, but upon surveying the indicated area he dismissed the entire previous conversation, his eyes lightening in recognition. "Yosh! It is our youthful football, I shall retrieve it before any of my slower and unfit companions! (- add pose here-)"
Naruto glowered from his sleeping bag and rolled his shoulder. "What was that fuzzy brows? 'Cause it sounded a lot like a race proposition to me."
And just like that the Solve-the-Mystery session met its impromptu conclusion as a few of the other guys(and Tenten!) joined in and continued the conversation. Shino himself, starting to take bets, on the competitors. Honestly, she didn't know why it hadn't ended earlier. They were bugs. Shino had millions! But she guessed they had to at least name a prime subject to later extract "justice" from(Poor guy, whoever he was!). Inwardly, she wiped the imaginary sweat off of her forehead.
'Woo, nice save-!' Inner congratulated, before cutting herself off. 'Oops. I spoke to soon.'
'Huh?-Oh.' She craned her neck to see Shika observing her.
Observing her as if he was dissecting a frog. She shivered.
To her fortune, Ino's face loomed in front of his just in time. She had her Gossip eye-gleam on, but lowered her excited disposition to a calm one and spoke lowly. "You heard about the party-casher, right? Why Karin closed the party?"
On the average day, Sakura wasn't one for gossip. Or more precisely, not one for spreading it. Hearing, on the other hand was a much different story. And presently she'd much rather be conversing with her blonde friend than cowering from the tactical genius's stares.
Besides, this actually interested her. She mimicked her low voice. "No, who? Why?"
"The heir of the Hozuki clan!" Ino squealed. Or tried to but her hand came to muffle her shriek of excitement.
Sakura blinked. Feeling very much out of the loop. "…Who?"
Ino's lightly lifted eyebrows suddenly came down to knit angrily. "You've got to kidding me? And you dated Sasuke for over a year? How can you not know?"
Her eyelid twitched. You could she was a little irked at the Sasuke line. What did this have to do with him, anyways? "I get it. I'm a socially-retarded turd. Now tell me!" This was how it was always like. Because she wasn't a gossip-queen like Ino nor in a family like Hinata, most of the time when "Hot gossip" hit the streets she either wasn't inclined to find out what it was or didn't have the right connections to (During the time they were together, Sasuke rarely liked to speak about those kind of things, so there was practically nothing coming out of him either.). And with all the little ways different clans were connected and severed… it was difficult to keep track of it all. She did know the heads of the Uchiha and Hyuuga family were often business partners. But that was about as far as her "greater knowledge" extended to.
"Okay. Here are the main facts." Ino may have looked annoyed whilst explaining this to her but she knew her friend long enough to understand that her blue-eyed friend enjoyed immensely the opportunity to gloat over information the pinkette didn't have. "Suigetsu Hozuki. Main heir of the Hozuki clan over in Mist. The Hozuki specialize in water-based jutsu and own a huge business that deals with over-sea trade and another smaller once associated in ship-building. They've been in major rivalry with the Uchiha for centuries. Fire and Water don't mix too well, do they? Get it? …Fine, don't laugh. Anyways, when Suigetsu showed up, the party had to end. Not really because we distrust the guy. We distrust his clan." Here she paused to see if Sakura had successfully absorbed that much. When she was greeted with a nod she continued. "The party was set at the Uchiha Manor, so it was highly dangerous to have such people around. Karin and Sasuke both knew this so they shut it down early."
Really? That was surely an interesting little twist. Apparently, Karin hadn't subjected the rest of the group to the small bit of knowledge that was him also being her ex-boyfriend. Briefly she entertained, the notion that Karin was actually a spy working under Suigetsu in order to get dirt on the Uchiha corporation but that faded quickly. No, those were true emotions she'd seen on the red-head's face. The truest she'd ever seen out of her, really. And why had she chosen her, of all people, to disclose this fact to(well not to, per say, but she said it in clear view of her)? It seemed like a real mystery was slowly unraveling.
Speaking of mysteries, she just realized something. Everyone else in her entire group, had known exactly who and what the Akatsuki were, down to their outer wear. She hadn't even been able to pronounce their name! Rumors… they had spoke of rumors then, didn't they? The only rumor she heard about the Akatsuki at school was the one she herself had started (Ha! Kisame!). The "Akatsuki Equals Danger" mantra seemed to beat noiselessly but heavily. "Hey, Ino. What rumor were you guys talking about the other day?"
Ino tilted her head in confusion. "Rumor about what?"
"You know, the one Kiba was talking about, about the Akatsuki. What's got everyone so freaked about them?"
Ino's eyes widened and she actually began to shake her head in disbelief. "I could understand the not knowing about Hozuki thing, but this?! Do you live under a rock? It's barely even a rumor! It was on the news!-"
Before Ino, could finish the thought. Shikamaru's throaty cough, caught both parties attention as well as a few others.
"Sakura. Kiba. I need you to come here for a minute." His voice called out. It had a slight edge to it, Enough edge, to make Sakura's green eyes narrow warily when she turned to him. Nonetheless with a quick 'We'll continue this later" to Ino, she crawled over to the pineapple-headed boy.
"What'dya want Nara? I was just about to race-"
"Kiba." Shikamaru directed, interrupting his complaint. "I want you to test Sakura for any unusual scents."
"What?!" Sakura bellowed loudly and scooted away, surprising the two next to her and unintentionally attracting the notice of all of the others. Didn't he say a moment ago that he'd believe everyone if they said they didn't do it? (Though she lied) He should believe her! (Though she actually did do it)
"Oi. Calm down." Shikamaru retorted, rubbing his temple with one hand as if her scream had brought on a sudden headache. "I know what your thinking and I still trust whatever you told me. But with what Lee said someone might've taken over your mind with a power similar to the Yamanaka's and used your body to do the deed… however unlikely that may seem… But a possibility tested will narrow the range of suspects even further." He gave her that eye of his. "There's no problem, is there?"
"N-noo." she stumbled apprehensively. Crap! Crappity-Crap Crap! What if he smelled the… wait… who did she give the bottle to again…? Wasn't she supposed to keep it in her clothes bag?… No. She was sure she handed it to someone. That part of the night was really fuzzy.
'Shit. You don't remember?! I thought you were sobering up then!'
'No… What?! Why!'
It seemed that today, was the no one utter a complete thought day because before Innerself could continue, she was interrupted again. Really, what was with people interrupting right when she was about to learn something extremely important?
Anyways, Kiba, who had been nervously shifting his weight as the pair argued sniffed the air and frowned. Before he or she knew it, he had grabbed her shoulders firmly and had his nose placed against her cheek.
"Ki-kiba!" she spluttered a bit embarrassedly, a part of her tangled hair caught the side of her lip. She brushed it away with a hand but the brunette was too absorbed in his action to comprehend her irritation.
Muttering a quiet "That can't be right" he carefully inhaled and examined whatever scent was on her and inched downward, taking another sample and down again. This method continued until he had absent-mindedly reached her neckline and proceeded to go further. With a furious shout of "Hentai!" and a harsh shove, the two were separated.
"So…" Shikamaru questioned, unfazed by the events.
She glared.
"Sorry about that, Sakura." Kiba apologized meekly, scratching the side of his nose once more before turning to him and the rest of the room. "Nothing really… unfamiliar… actually she has a scent that's eerily similar to Sasuke's… all over her body."
There was silence in the room as it took a couple of minutes for this to click in everyone's minds. But when it did-
"I what?!-"
"-But those two… and these two are…-"
"-That's… disturbing, Uchiha.-"
"-Wait… how did no one but Lee wake up through-"
"-S-Sakura and Sasuke wouldn't…-"
"Sasuke-teme's a PLAYA!"
"Shut the hell up, dobe!"
"I SAID SIMILAR PEOPLE!" Kiba roared over the commotion, hushing all other babbling conversation. "As in, not exact, but close to." he further explained anime-like vein throbbing on his forehead.
Mutterings of mutual consent filled the air and soon everyone had settled back into their spots(Appearing to no longer care whose scent it was), Sakura included.
But she noticed something strange.
Karin.
After Kiba's misunderstood announcement she didn't object; didn't bat her eyes and coo, "Why, Sasuke-kun, why?!" Hell she didn't even seem surprised.
Hey… Karin hadn't made a comment, other that volunteering herself to search for "clues", all day!
The red head questioned must've used her physic abilities to catch her staring and sent her a personal smirk. What was she up to…? After glancing around the room as inconspicuously as possible, Karin started mouthing words.
' "I…. know… who you were with last night"? Really? Would you like to tell me 'cause I have no idea." she mused inwardly, outwardly she mouthed quickly back, not really caring if she understood or not, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Ha! And it was the truth too!
'Crap! This is serious Sakura!' her inner voice broke through her mocking. 'This could totally blow our cover.'
'What could blow our cover?! What happened yesterday- er… this morning?" Sakura shot back.
'Okay, listen up! You went and delivered the bug-bottle to Zetsu, who was still waiting in Itachi's room. … Actually they were playing Go… Anyhow, he left, and you umm… sorta-kinda collapsed… there… on Itachi's bed… on him….'
…She collapsed…. On top of Itachi…
So that's where the "Sasuke-like" smell came from…!
'That's all? That's all you got to say. You pass out, and end up drooling no doubt, all over an elite Akatsuki member; find out that somehow your ach-enemy has discovered that your fraternizing with your entire group's enemies and all you can think about is what dog-boy said?'
Sakura's finger immediately went to outline her lip. Drool?! How Karin knew she didn't know, but it wasn't like it was much of a problem.
'Chill, Inner.So she knows that I went to his room. So what? She doesn't even know why I was there. Besides, she's got no proof.' she mollified. Really, what was she going to do? Call Itachi Uchiha down himself to testify?
Heh. heh. …heeeeh. She shouldn't of thought that. With her kind of karma she really shouldn't of thought that.
True to it's cruel form, a moment later Karin's cheerfully annoying voice broke through the rest of the group's individual discussions, with a sing song ring of "U-chi-ha-san." Simultaneously, all other speech slowed and lowered.
She wouldn't.
"Hn." a voice called dryly back. Sakura started for two reasons. One, she had not realized he was standing right there on the stairs behind the living room(She wasn't that bad of a ninja! He just always suppressed his chakra to the most miniscule amount. She was sure no one else had noticed either… then how did Karin know?) Two, he had actually replied to the twit! Granted, it was only a grunt. But he made the effort!
Feminine ruby eyes mischievously darted to her own green ones.
She would.
"Could you please come here for a second. There seems to have been an incident last night. And we were hoping you could either confirm or deny a few things."
'Say no, Itachi! Don't give into peer pressure!'
But would the karma-goddess listen to her pleas? No!
"…Aa." There was a twist in that. Why was there a twist in that! What's he plotting?!
As the footsteps continued and Karin smiled an "Excellent" Sakura chose quickly to take no chances and did her best to conceal herself from the intruder. Unfortunately, the best "hiding spot" she could find in the very limited two seconds she had to acquire a place was:
"Oi. Sakura… what are you doing?"
"Shut up and don't move, Naruto!"
"And what if I don't want- Ow! Ow! OW!"
"Now what was that?"
"Okayokayokay! Just let go of my ear-…-Freaking banshee."
"Shhhh!!"
From her genius position behind the blond's head she could see Karin and Sasuke making goo-goo eyes at one another. NO-wait! She knew that scowl! That SasuKari were arguing?! (Silently, but arguing nonetheless)
Sasuke gave the red-head the (-take a deep breath-) "What the heck do you think you're doing/ You idiot/ I'm actually freaked out of my mind but I'm pretending to be bored/ Even though I'm acting cool and stoic I really want to bust out laughing/ I gotta pee" look.
Yes. All these wondrous discernible meanings in just one expression!
Uchihas are very complex individuals.
Judging from the atmosphere it was probably one of the first there... and possible number five.
The girl nudged him and… oh gag. Pecked him on the lips. -Sorry but, she'd never get used to their PDA. Gross.-
Before she could fully take in, the younger Uchiha's reaction, the older appeared in the doorway. His dark eyes began to scan the room, but before he got to her super-
"Obvious."
-undetectable spot, Karen had somehow transported herself to a foot away from his person, effectively (but not purposely) blocking her from his view.
Safe, for now, Uchiha Itachi was unpredictable. Past experiences told her he like placing others in awkward positions. Today, she wasn't sure if he'd advocate or convict her.
"Arigatou, Uchiha-san. We just need to ask you a couple of questions then you can be on your way." she chirped. No, Sakura meant she really chirped. Not that normal fake cheerful voice she used around the group, but a honest to Kami "happy to see you" tone.
Interesting. She chose to save this little slot of information for later examination.
"Aa." he replied. Ha! It was in a monotone. Seemed like the bunny had gone back under it's- Oh fudge.
Ruby scarred eyes had flickered up, in those few seconds, and found her own. She tensed and jumped even more behind her living concealer but it was too late. Her pink hair had once again called her out.
Well.. There didn't seem to be recognition in those pupils. That's a… good sign, right? Or was she just kidding herself…
"Did you see or sense anything out of the ordinary yesterday?" The red-head questioned in more of a professional tone than the pink-head had thought possible of her. "Anyone coming or exiting the estate at odd times? There's been a thievery."
Sakura actually breathed a sigh of relief when the elder Uchiha shook his head. She didn't know why she was so scared in the first place. Itachi was an Akatsuki. Why would he tattle on another soon-to-be member performing a mission?
Inner Sakura had already started rejoicing that Karin's plan (whatever-it-was) had failed when- "However, Sakura." The deep voice intoned lightly, the owner's gaze more than likely switching subjects.
The sigh caught in her throat, stifling itself and she visibly froze. Slowly she turned her head towards the malicious beast,
Please. Have mercy.
The Uchiha stalked over slowly to it's trembling prey, seeming to relish her anxiety. His hand slipped into his pocket, and out of the corner of her eye, Sakura was positive she saw her former shield tense and move his feet into a more offensive position. You know, as if he was going to attack the taller man if he showed signs of aggression. Like he didn't just squeeze out of Itachi's predatory gaze thus leaving her in the open.
A smudge of violet dangled in front of her view and it took Sakura only a couple of seconds to recognize the object as her own hair tie.
Her expression brightened and her hand reached out to retrieve her property. So that's where it's- wait. Her hand paused. She frowned. How in the world did Itachi, of all people get it.
Apparently, this was just the reaction he was hoping to get because a ghost of a smirk appeared on his face. He leaned in close, so close, in fact, that his nose brushed against her own.
"You left this… in my bed last night." he murmured, but the room was so quiet that it virtually echoed anyways.
Sakura was for lack of better term, dumbstruck. The Uchiha took this opportunity to empty the object into her immobilized palm and glide out of the room.
You see. Do you remember when she said Uchihas were very complex creatures? Well, this was a superb representation.
She had asked whether he would advocate or convict her. Oh, but naturally, the world can't possible black or white to a Uchiha. It's freakin' checkered. He went out of his way to advocate her on one crime and convict her on a totally unrelated one. All in a few seconds too. Perfect exemplary Itachi Uchiha behavior.
'He's lying!'
'Actually… it might be true. When you fell it's very possible the hair tie could've come loose.'
Sakura chose to ignore her innerself's reasoning. She didn't really care if he had been telling the truth or not. The way in which he stated it was purposely filled to the rim with sexual innuendo!
"Then.. The Uchiha I melt on Sakura was… o-oh man."
Sakura was forcibly pulled from her thought's with Kiba's statement. She didn't have time to be angry.
Her evergreen pupils shifted from fact to face; Shock, worry, disgust, anger, fright, and …. A vicious smirk from a certain Uchiha girlfriend.
She needed. And she needed them fast.
A/N: I could so end it here. And I would had I not wanted this task to over and done with already! I can move onto the next step in the plot. You're just lucky I'm impatient.
"There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for all this, I swear."
"Well, we're waiting, Sakura." Ino returned, arms crossed and fingers drumming. Out of all the responses Sakura had gotten, the blonde's was the most unexpected. Unexpected, in an strangely good way. Her only outward reaction was a slight grimace, not even dark enough to create forehead lines. Karin, on the other hand, seemed to be torn between grinning victoriously or acting appalled. She later settled for a disappointed headshake, biting her inner cheek to keep the smile from showing.
Conniving Mistress.
"Sakura?"
She had unconsciously stared glowering at the subject of her thoughts and had to blink back into the conversation.
"right… umm, you see." Think, Think, Think! She couldn't just say he was lying either! He had evidence!
For once, fortune took pity on her: A burnt-out light bulb lit up.
"Hinata, remember yesterday when you caught me on the second floor?" She spoke in such unexpected rush that she had to physically force the excitement out of her voice.
The dark-haired girl jumped, startled at the sudden mention of her name. She nodded hesitantly, a pink blush already building on her cheeks.
Perfect.
"I take it, you remember the story, as well?"
This time the nod was vigorous and pink had turned to cerise.
"Wait, what story? Why were toy on the second floor?" Shikamaru demanded. Just as she figured he would.
She put on a thoughtful expression, adding a finger to the side of her face for extra detail. "Well…"
"NO DON'T!" The normally soft-spoken girl screeched, hands already cupping her ears, gathering the room's attention. This time, Sakura didn't feel that bad about playing off the girl's insecurities. Had she been a bit more stable when it came to these sort of thins she probably would have questioned her more thoroughly and caught the soon-to-be and previous faults in her story. Was it her fault that her friend's mind was perpetually stuck in the mental gutter?
"Just trust me, Shikamaru-kun," she huffed a bit out of breath from her panic and loud interruption. "It has nothing to do with Shino's bugs and…honestly… you don't want to know."
Shikamaru wryly raised an eyebrow but said nothing more. Inner Sakura reflected on how false Hinata's words truly were.
"Anyways," Sakura started, taking back control of the conversation. "During my time in the room," She shot Hinata a look to check that she was following. Her occupation as an alibi was still crucial to the plan. "No, after actually. When they were roughly shoving me out, my tie must've come off accidentally and I didn't notice 'til morning 'cause I'm so used to it being down."
There were a few time issues with that explanation, but really, who would be watching her hairstyle that closely?
"Then how did he get it?" Naruto questioned confusedly, cocking his head to one side. That was a good sign. He was no longer suspicious.
Sakura shrugged. "I guess he must've seen it on the floor." She forced her forehead to crease. "Come to think of it, I did bump into him near the stairs…"
She glanced up and around the circle expectantly and a tiny bit fearfully. Now it was their turn to come up with the rest. She dearly hoped the many uneven seams in her fabricated story wouldn't show.
Surprisingly enough, it was Sasuke who pulled the metaphorical sheet over the rest of the group's eyes with his annoyed grunt and comment of, "Turning us against one another. Sounds like something he'd do."
Soon the entire incident was explained away in moments and the highschoolers were all settling back into their roles of idle chit-chat. This is when Sakura silently excused herself and stole away down the same path of the elder of the Uchiha brothers.
There was a time to be mad and a time to be calm. Now, was the time to be pissed.
The Uchiha manor/mansion/estate had like many other houses it's size had a few courtyards as well as a large backyard. It was in a courtyard, the one with the maple in the center to be exact, that Sakura found Itachi. He was in a shack like room situated in the right corner. This little shack could probably fit three or four of her living rooms in it, but was a shack nonetheless. In a normal village, it probably would've been a tool shed for a wealthy heir. But there in Konoha, it was more than likely used as a weapon shed.
Entering the room and being greeted with shade from the immense heat, Sakura wasn't surprised to see her deduction had been right. The cloaked man was resting on a wooden bench hunched over on a man-powered and seemingly ancient metal sharpener. Using one foot to pump the lever and keep the stone wheel spinning , he watched the sparks emitted as the kunai he was holding against the tool smoothed it's edges. The room was filled with tons more interesting, and some plain perturbing, weapons but Sakura hadn't come there to admire them.
"Why." she asked tonelessly.
"Hn?" he returned detachedly much more absorbed in his progress and not even redirecting his eyes away from the knife-like weapon.
"Why do you enjoy torturing me so much? Huh?" Sakura started off softly, but gradually increased in volume and anger. "Does it somehow Please your twisted little mind to see me suffer? You want my friends distrust me? Does is Amuse you? Does it? Does it?!" There was no reason at all for him to do what he did and Sakura wasn't about to sit back and take his or anyone else's crap quietly. She just wasn't that type of person. Sure she might've seemed "disturbed but fine" with it before but she was only withholding her emotions for the sake of her alibi. Playing around was one thing but that had been completely uncalled for!
The Sharingan user was silent. Silent for long enough that Sakura briefly questioned if he heard her at all over the roar of the engine but decided against that as he slowed the pace of the machine to a total halt.
He glanced up at her and studied her face as if making sure she was finished with rant before blankly stating, "I was testing you."
"Well I-" she started again in her loud tone but promptly cut herself off, absorbing his words. Anger flipped to perplexion. "You were… testing me?" Her fist unconsciously untensed and she rested her side against the metal wall of the shed. "How? What for?"
The whirl of movement and high-pitched squeal of metal meeting stone told her he had started sharpening his tools again. "True Akatsuki are powerful not only physically but mentally as well. By putting you in a stressful situation. I was able to gauge not only your ability to successfully dismiss, or in your case, disguise and hide your emotions, but also your mental reaction time and capability."
Sakura was astounded by the sheer amount of words he'd said so far (continuously!). Though a little voice at the back of her mind told her that what he was saying made sense.
He picked up the kunai, and traced it's sharpened edge with a finger pad, surveying his work. "Real power comes from a combination of strength, intellect, and skill. From what Deidara tells me you need work in the physical department… for that we'll need to speak with Sasori. But your mental prowess does indeed appear to be great."
Sakura pondered this statement quietly, seeing the logic in it and curtly questioning this Sasori-person's identity. With even more depth, she saw that he was taking the time to explain this to her seriously; Treating her like an…. equal... well almost... …at least not like an annoying fangirl-like sidekick!
And he complimented her. Chocolate points to Itachi Uchiha! (Never thought she'd think that!)
Itachi placed the weapon into, what she supposed was, an unseen pouch under his cloak and stood up from the bench. With the same steady tone but with a light undertone and the tiniest hint of a smirk he recited, "Watching you squirm is simply an incentive." He then made a series of hand seals and eyed her gaping figure. "Use the hair tie. You look like crap." he uttered flatly before disappearing as if fading into the background.
She blinked before realizing she had been speaking to a genjustu doppelganger the entire time. Growling inwardly at both being tricked and his last words, she stormed, seething on the outside (frustratedly putting her hair up whilst Inner Sakura laughed it upon the inside).
Multiply Itachi's Chocolate-receiving points by 20 then add a negative sign. That's how many points he has!
"My… Late… Revenge?"
"Your what?" Ino called to the genius, who hunched over the jar studying it's paper label carefully.
"No. That's what the jar says. Someone wrote on the label with permanent marker."
Almost immediately, the genius was swarmed in bodies trying to see the supposed writing. Irritated, he tucked it under his lap and turned his head to Shino, brushing off the others' groaning.
"Didn't you see the words written on it before, Shino?" he questioned.
Shino nodded, not having moved from his seat unlike the majority of the room. "I saw the marks but it looked like chicken scratch to me so I ignored it."
Shikamaru simply inclined his head, accepting the answer.
"Late revenge .. Like the song?" Ino summarized contemplatively.
Tenten's hand twitched as if resisting an urge. With a forced steady voice she corrected her. "That's My SWEET Revenge, Ino dear. And that's not even the title. It's 'Revenga.'"
Naruto gleamed and pointed at her. "Ha! And you tell me I make blonds look bad. Even I knew that!"
The female blond scowled. "You do." Then she turned her attention to the brunette and proceeded in a light it's-not-my-fault tone. "It's just an old song, besides I listen to more Pop than that stuff, only you and Hinata listened to that song when it was out."
"Can I look at it, now?" Kiba broke impatiently into the conversation already reaching his hand out for the container.
"Go ahead, knock yourself out." The pineapple-headed one mumbled and handed it over.
"…My…Lar… Clage?"
"No that's a T and E. And that big scribble over there is an R…"
As they debated the words pronunciation, Sakura, another part of the minority who had not rushed over, lounged on the newly up righted couch mentally mulling over her own writings with her innerself.
'My Late Revenge…?' She definitely did not remember writing that.
'Personally, I think you were going for Late Night Revenge… but your drunken mind kinda screwed it up.'
'No, no… I sorta like it.'
'Obviously, you made it.'
Sakura discounted her comment, the wheels spinning in her head. She felt a grin shaping on her face.
'I think we've just formed a new alias.'
A Glimpse into the Sociology and Psychology of a Teenage Girl's Mind
Class: Biology
Period: 2
Starting Date: 9/10
Ending Date: TBA
Due/Turn-In Date: To be Presented during the Last Week of the First Semester
Project Title: Late Revenge
NightDREAMERms: FINALLY! This chapter is over, and you guys get to see the story's namesake! It was pretty long. So I hope it keeps you guys satisfied for at least a little while. Review!!