DollFace

Chapter Five

Smile

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Haruno Mebuki was buried a week after the tragic incident. The news spread like wildfire all over Konohagakure, reaching the ears of young and old alike.

Mebuki laid peacefully in the wooden coffin, many gathered around and the drizzled continued its assault. They didn't care, a shinobi, a civilian, a daughter, a mother, all lost in a sad story. 'That heartless bastard,' they all thought, 'he'll pay for this!'

No one could have ever fathom the idea of The Spectre (as they would have dubbed the name of the killer) sneeking into someone's home to kill. The idea itself was odd, almost as if they knew each other. Had it been for pleasure? Or perhaps, vengeance?

Kakashi sat facing the memorial, his face downcast in remorse. "I'm sorry," he spoke solemnly, "Sakura."

"Kakashi sensei!" A high pitched voice called from behind, he turned to see said pinkette standing behind him, a beaming smile on her face. Normal people would see this as an ordinary thing, but Kakashi could tell that smile was fake. It filled him with even more dread than before. "Why are you smiling? Sakura." He turned fully to face her, single eye piercing through her soul, trying to decipher the puzzle.

Not long after, her face fell into a frown,"Mom wouldn't want me to be sad." No response. "She'd want me to smile more! Y'know and make her proud!" Kakashi stared at her with sympathetic eyes. "Sakura..." He mentioned above a whisper.

"Because shinobi aren't supposed to cry!" She bellowed, as he looked at her. Suddenly she walked slowly towards him and wrapped her small, frail arms around him. He tensed up. "But is it okay if I do it just once," her voice was barely audible, she began to tremble; a few drops of tears fell on the man's flak jacket, "just.. this once......" Fresh tears poured from her eyes as she held on to him even tighter, crying silently into his shoulder. Kakashi just stood there, unsure of what to do, so he settled for letting her be.

She was like porcelain,

Fragile yet graceful.

Something precious that needed to be protected.

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Sakura was doing better than expected, she still trained with Ino and read her books. But it always seemed as if something was wrong.

Shikamaru couldn't place a finger on it. Something wasn't right, and he couldn't figure it out.

No.

She looked okay but he knew something was definitely wrong.

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"You don't plan a murder out loud."                                                            

~Anonymous

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to be continued~