Something I've been working on. A little different, inspired by HP Lovecraft writings. Not so much horror as more of a mystery styling. I'd like to know thoughts on if I should continue so please review! Thanks so much!

Constructive criticism accepted but no flames.

Summary:

Sakura's fathers is pronounced dead under mysterious circumstances, something she can't accept until she goes back to the home she left 10 years ago to discover what really happened. She's following an old trail her dad left about something hidden in the bay, but she keeps getting the feeling of being watched. Nothing makes senses. Maybe an old friend can help, or the mysterious Sasuke she keeps running into...

Prequel:

Father was a sailor. Dating back to before I could remember, he took me out on the calm waters of Uchiha Bay. I'd grown up a water baby, he often told me, until one day he abruptly stopped bringing me along. He refused to take me out on the boat with him anymore, no matter how much I pleaded with big eyes. He always told me that my eyes were the most beautiful color of sea foam green. But it didn't work; father was guilt ridden that he'd lost me at sea and vowed to never let it happen again.

I disappeared for three days, that's what mother told me once I got older. They thought I'd drowned and already started to mourn me when I showed up that third day. A man found me near the Bay, walking along the beach picking up seashells. He'd been part of the search party combing the beach one last time, and only spotted me when he came back to grab his forgotten jacket. Even though I'd unknowingly come back to them safe and sound, they couldn't bear to chance it again. Father loved the sea, but he'd cultivated a fear of it after it tried to take his only daughter.

After that, the fighting began. Father started to drink excessively during mother's tantrums. He spent more and more time out on the waters, despite his fear. When he was home he locked himself in his study and became distant. Mother became paranoid. She demanded that father quit his days at sea and stay home with the family or suffer the consequences. Ultimately, my dad was married to the sea. The deep blue was a dangerous mistress to my parent's union. They divorced only a couple months later.

I was at a naive age; I thought it was my fault.

The night before the divorce was final, I sat on my father's lap and basked in the warmth of the fireplace, completely unaware that my parents were going to be separating.

"I'm glad you're okay, I thought the beast had taken you." He spoke in a silent, gruff voice, placing a single hand on top of my head. Father, in all his seriousness, had an acute fascination with myth and folklore. Often I was the only subject listening to his tangents of adventure and mythical creatures. It was my favorite past time, when an animated storyteller took over my dad. He'd used to joke and use silly voices, but the lightheartedness had left, only to return on rare occasions.

"A dangerous beast lives in our waters that span beyond human perceptions. I thought perhaps he'd awakened and taken you. One look, they say, will drive any man mad. Imagine what it would do to a child..."

"What does 'perceptions' mean," I asked, looking up to him wide-eyed.

Usually in the past he'd laugh and indulge in my inquisitive attitude; this night he kept a hard face.

The next morning he signed the divorce papers and all rights to me, his only child, away. I held on to my mother's hand at the end of the driveway as she called for a cab. I did not cry as I fisted a small hello kitty luggage bag. Instead, I watched my father down the stone path as he stood in the doorway as he cried for me. He had a sad, lonely smile on his face, yet he somehow looked at peace.

That was the last time I would ever see him again.

End prequel

Chapter 1:

"Sakura! I've been calling you down for breakfast for over twenty minutes! Get up!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I groaned at the pounding on the door, pulling me out of my enjoyable slumber. I groggily opened my eyes and stretched. My toes curled as I looked at the sky blue painted room. The bedroom felt less and less like me every time I visited on break. Old posters of bands that fell from the limelight years ago still adorned my walls. A few stuffed animals that held too much sentimental value sat atop my flower patterned dresser. I'd even discovered an old shoe-box full of dad's letters underneath my bed when I tried to stuff my suitcase underneath. Several times I contemplated just boxing everything up, but I couldn't. I didn't have the heart to tell mom to pack everything and move on. In her eyes I was still her little girl who loved chocolate chip pancakes every Saturday morning.

Now, I was a college student who loved eating microwave chocolate chip pancakes at two in the morning as I finished a paper due the next day.

Still half asleep, I made the journey downstairs to the kitchen. I sat down at the table with a loud thud.

"Why is it that you're asleep at least half the time when you visit? It's like you're a bear." Mom chided, placing a stack of her routinely delicious pancakes in front of me. I let out a tired sigh and picked up my fork.

"Not my fault summer vacation falls on my hibernation cycle," I mumbled, taking my first bite.

Mom tsk'ed me from the stove as I dug in. She made a plate for herself and sat down across from me. Mom picked at her food like she always did when she had something to say. I set my fork down and stopped stuffing my mouth in order to give her my full attention.

"What is it?" I coaxed.

She let out a dramatic sigh, closing her eyes.

"Oh, nothing." She spoke. I quirked an eyebrow at her response since it was evident she was pouting. I didn't believe her one bit and waited for her to continue. I dropped my fork, leaned back in my chair, and stared at her.

"It's just that you've been home from college for almost a week and we haven't spent any quality time together. No big deal."

I almost rolled my eyes at her; mom was so over the top, but she was right. I tended to lock myself in my room or was busy with friends most days, and once she was home from work during the weekdays, we were both in couch potato mode. It was our first weekend together; we should make the most of it. Spending time with mom never hurt.

"You're laying it on kinda thick mom; I get the point. So what do you wanna do today? I'm all yours."

Mom beamed, and I went back to stuffing my face as she tapped her finger to her chin in thought. Mayersville was a little town tucked away from the major cities, which was peaceful but also meant there wasn't much to do in town besides go to the park or walk along Main Street.

She came to her decision as I finished off my last pancake while she hadn't even touched hers yet. Those poor, now cold, uneaten pancakes. I was tempted to take them.

"A mall just opened up in the next city over, brand new. We can take a little road trip and go shopping." She suggested, and I nodded in agreement.

It took an hour for us to get going, mostly because it took forever for my body to wake up. Freshly showered and stomachs full of pancakes, we made our way to Central Plaza mall. It was three levels of department stores, jewelry stores, and hipster coffee shops. Of course, the store that captured my attention was a small bookstore tucked away in the west wing.

The quaint place held books, CD's, old records, and a variety of trinkets lining the shelves. Mom went for the cute little nick-knacks as I headed for the aisles. I got lost in a sea of novelties that wasn't organized in any particular order. It made it hard to look for anything specific, there were no sections marked, but a faded red spine stood out to me amidst the chaos.

I pulled the book out and ran my fingers against the soft leather as I turned it over to look at the title. "Book of Peculiar Creatures and Strange Phenomenon," I read out loud. I looked around to make sure I was alone, then opened it.

The script looked ancient with heavy, exaggerated loops and perfect cursive print. There were pictures too, on some pages, of creatures I'd never seen on the big screen. But the names; they looked familiar as deja vu washed over me. I knew these but from where?

Oh! My father used these names in his stories! I always thought he'd made them up. I thumbed through a couple more pages, and sure enough, these were the mythical beasts I'd grown up with staring up at me through the ink.

I walked up to the counter with the book safely tucked under my arm. I promptly set it down and waited for the cashier. Mom was deciding between a Snoopy figurine or an old Stevie Knicks album on the other side of the store, lost in her own little world. I looked back at the cashier and pleaded for her to hurry up. Finally, the older women made it to the register. She clicked a few buttons, scanned the book without looking, and droned out the price. I quickly gave her my card. She handed me my bag as mom came up from behind with both Snoopy and the album.

"Look how cute this- you bought something? You know I would've paid for it dear." mom said as she set down her items. She regarded me as the cashier rang her up and grabbed the tip of my bag to peek inside. I tugged at it slightly, not wanting her to see. When she tilted her head and frowned, I knew she'd read the title.

"What a strange book," she commented offhandedly and paid for her things. We thanked the cashier and walked out, looking for our next target.

"I like strange things." I defended innocently.

"Definitely got that from your father." She muttered, but my odd choice in books became overshadowed by a cute dress in a store window. A few shopping bags later and the book was buried and forgotten.

I slurped at a strawberry smoothie during the trip back to town with a small mountain of new summer clothes in the back seat. I nodded absentmindedly, listening to mom tell me a story about the neighbor getting drunk and trying to steal the neighborhoods yard gnomes. The moment was peaceful until I noticed a black Porsche parked in front of the driveway and a frail looking man standing at the front door. I stopped slurping immediately.

"Mom, who's that?" I asked.

"What?" Mom blurted, interrupting her story. I pointed towards the door. She leaned over the steering wheel and squinted, following the direction of my finger. She frowned.

"I don't know, but I guess we're about to find out." She replied, and parked next to the Porsche. Mom left me to handle all the bags as she went to greet said stranger.

"Hello." She said politely. "Is there something you need?"

The man abruptly turned, taken by surprise.

"Oh! Sorry to intrude, but is this the Haruno-Namura residence?" He inquired.

"Namura," She corrected, "And who are you?"

The man blushed, embarrassed that he'd forgotten to introduce himself.

"How rude of me." He held out his hand. Mom lightly shook it. "Mr. Blackbern, I'm here in representation of Kizashi Haruno, your late husband."

Mom dropped his hand as if it burned her. The comment shocked her, and her back tensed as I came up behind her trying to balance all the bags in my arms. She quickly unlocked the door and held it open, trying to remember her manners at the mention of dad.

"Please, come in. It looks like it might rain soon."

The man, Mr. Blackbern, sputtered his thanks and hurried inside with mom following close behind.

"Wait! I can't open the door with all these bags!" I shouted as the screen door shut in my face.

"Sakura, why don't you take your bags up to your room and put away your things while I talk to Mr. Blackbern," Mom suggested, trying to shoo me up the steps.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again; now she tried to get rid of me after complaining we don't spend enough time together?

"No," I huffed, dumping my bags onto the couch. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and glued myself to the spot. "I want to hear what he has to say from dad," I demanded.

Besides a few letters here and there, which I loved getting, I hadn't heard from my father since we'd left Konoha. This was the first time someone he'd sent a human being, and without a reason to like my birthday or Christmas. I had a feeling that meant something important.

Mom sighed, knowing she'd be pegged a bad mom if she denied her only daughter information about her father. She gave in with a scowl.

Mr. Blackbern sat at our kitchen table with his hands folded in front of him, holding a hanky. He wore a fine pressed suit, brand new. His flat cap laid on the table, and a briefcase sat at his feet. He took a sip of water mom had given him as we walked in, and cleared his throat. I sat down on a chair just to the side, but mom remained standing and leaned on the counter.

"I'm assuming your Mebuki, which means your Sakura." He exclaimed, giving us both a pleasant smile. "I've heard many good things from Kizashi." His comment was polite enough, but I wondered why he wore such a nervous expression.

"So why are you here and not him? Couldn't stand to be away from the water?" Mom goaded bitterly. Hearing anything about dad tended to set her on edge. Mr. Blackbern looked taken back, but soon his face grew sorrowful like he had a terrible burden to bear. Before he even parted his lips, I knew something was very, very wrong.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, terrible really. Kizashi Haruno was lost at sea, and pronounced dead yesterday."

End chapter 1! Soooo? what do you guys think? Sasuke will make an entrance later, don't worry. He plays a very important part.