1A/N: Wow. It seems like forever since I actually sat down and wrote something. I have no idea where exactly this story will lead me and I do not have any set pairings yet. But hopefully it will turn out good. You can go ahead and request some one to be paired up with Sakura. Now that doesn't mean that I will for a fact put it in there, but I will probably lean more towards that pairing. Now enough of my rambling on to the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did I would not be writing fan fictions now would I?
Chapter One
The smell of an age past and forgotten filled the air. Past, forgotten, and dead.
Sakura sighed as she gently caressed the tomb stone in front of her with the damp wash cloth that was treated with preservative chemicals. The ancient stone was cracked and crumbling from years of neglect and age. Weeds had overtaken most of the graveyard and had started growing through the cracks and abrasions. For a place of historical significance for the small town it wasn't taken care of very well.
She stood up and looked around the large area. The pink haired woman shook her head in disgust. No wonder she had been called to take care of this place. She glanced at one of the stones as frowned the small slab of marble that sat in front of it. It was just as old as the stone and just as worn. Clearly no one had bothered putting any visible effort in to preserving the ancient ground.
She had been excited when she had been asked to restore the old graves. However they had failed to mention that due to years of neglect and forgetfulness that it was almost completely destroyed.
Green eyes narrowed slightly. It would figure that they would leave out the small matter of the place being a freaking train wreck. Idiots.
As a historian she was called to restore objects of history and to uncover the past that lay behind them. Her grandparents had raised her and as historians themselves had bred the deep passion for past in her. Most everything she knew about history she had gleaned form them rather than the school she had spent most of her life attending, both mandatory and otherwise.
Sakura hated nothing more than to see the history of such places discarded and mistreated. From the looks of it this place had been just that.
Her hands fisted in her pink hair in frustration. The restoration process was slow and tedious even when the artifacts were in good condition. If you added the research that went into it the grave yard could take years to restore.
Clearly her team had their team cut out for them. She glanced toward her assistant who was writing something in a black binder. "What do you think Misa? How long do you think it
will take?"
The woman she directed the question to had been her assistant for the past three years. They had met when they were still in collage and had become good friends through their shared passion for history, among other things. When Sakura had taken over her grandparents business of historical restoration she had been the first to apply for the assistant position and Sakura had never even considered anyone else.
Her good friendship with Misa Takanshi aside, her intelligence and knowledge of history, her ability to use a computer, and her nack for organization were all required for the position. Mostly because when it came to organization and any technology other than a cell phone Sakura was clueless.
Warm brown eyes met hers for a moment as Misa glanced up from the binder. " Well there are two hundred graves and only five of us. Not to mention the fact that we have to take care of the grounds surrounding them." She shrugged slightly. "I give it three years at the very least. And that is without adding in time for the bumps we are bound to hit."
Sakura sighed. "So basically I should start looking for an apartment rather than spend sixty dollars every day paying for a crappy Motel room." She glanced round one more time. "Alright lets leave for today and assess the damage further, tomorrow. Then we can make some calls to the rest of the crew and get their butts out here."
"Okay." Misa glanced at her boss. "Do you want a ride or did you want to get back the same way you came."
A wry smile crossed the other woman's face as she looked at the clear sky which was darkening slightly. "I think I'll walk. I hear that out in small towns like this there are stars in the sky that you can actually see. It is speculated that the lack of neon lights are cause of such a phenomenon," she said jokingly. " I would like to see them at least once in my life."
Misa laughed. "Alright then. I'll see you when you get back to the motel. Please be careful around here. I know that we came from Tokyo but I hear that the country is getting dangerous now days. "
Sakura scoffed slightly. "Please. I was dogging bullets on the Tokyo streets before my Grandparents took me in. I think I'll manage."
Misa rolled her eyes. "The gangster gone good girl, Right?"
"I have no clue as to what you could be referring to."
"Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that." Misa walked over to the rusty gate at the entrance of the graveyard and picked up her bag that she had discarded earlier. She gave a small wave before hopping into her car and speeding away.
Green eyes surveyed the area on last time before she tossed the rag in to a small air sealed plastic bag and tossed it into the backpack she carried everywhere and walked to the gate.
She only looked back at the graveyard once before she started to walk back. "I'm going to have fun figuring out your past."
She never noticed the group standing amongst shadows watching her. Six sets of eyes followed her retreat.
"This is not good. " One of the group spoke up after the woman left his eyesight. "She could stumble on to something no one was meant to know. If she has a big mouth she could put the town in danger."
The others looked at him.
"As much as it pains me to say it, and it really, really pains me, he does have a point." The mans black hair blew gently in the breeze as he spoke. "That idiot mayor really put us in a shitty position. Honestly, to ask a historian of all people to take care of this graveyard." His voice didn't belay his irritation with said idiot.
"And there are more coming."
"So what do we do?"
"I believe the best option now is to tell Tsunade. She will have some idea as what to do." The soft female voice was almost lost on the wind. Only the groups superior hearing allowed her to be heard at all. She brushed her long black hair out of her face. "Hopefully."
Murmurs of agreement shortly followed her suggestion.
"Okay. Lets go see Tsunade."
And with that they melted in to the shadows as if they were never there.
A/N: So what did you think? Like it? Hate it? Don't know? Well, tell me. All you have to do is go down and click on the submit reviews button.
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