Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
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What lies beneath
Chapter One
Underneath
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The existence of ghosts has been a controversial one spanning over a time period of several centuries. Souls of the undead or just mischievous demons haunting humans for the pure pleasure of it, the answers becoming cloudier and cloudier as more and more facts are dug out. Perhaps it would be a mystery that will never be answered.
What was true, however, were the people born or bestowed with the gift (or curse, depending on you ask) to see these spirits. Souls who are haunted with the ability to see past the veil that kept ordinary humans out from the realm of the dead, and entering that world themselves. Permanently.
Because when you start seeing ghost, you never go back.
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The piercing sound of an alarm woke a very sleepy Haruno Sakura from her slumber. She stared at it, the blinking digital letters reading seven in the morning as the alarm continued to blare. Slamming the stop button, she slumped out of the cozy confines of her bed and stretched, her reflection on the mirror showing a half-dead girl with wild pink hair sticking up in all directions. She scratched her hair and blearily stumbled to the bathroom.
The hot water that hit her face was the exact same temperature that she had grown accustomed to during her stay at the apartment. There were only two choices here at the dorms of Konoha state college of science and technology, and it was a choice of freeze-your-ass-cold or mildly scalding. Sakura gladly took the latter option over anything.
Precisely twenty minutes later, Sakura emerged from her bedroom, fully clothed and presentable. She took out the marmalade from the fridge and liberally applied them on two pieces of brown bread. A glass of orange juice sat at the left corner of her small dining table. She scanned the room lazily as she munched on her bread, her plain looking living room was meticulously tidy, and while her laundry basket needed her attention, she could probably deal with that later.
She washed her plate and by seven-forty sharp she was done and ready to leave. She gave one more glance to her quiet room and smiled. Silent, peaceful and tidy, just the way she liked it.
Her walk to campus was short and brisk, the crisp summer air fresh and cool as the weather got progressively colder nearer to autumn. But for now, it was still relatively warm as she trotted on to the lecture hall in a simple tank top and leggings. She entered the nearly empty hall at eight and sat at her seat near the window towards the front. Her class commence five minutes later and she studiously took notes as her human anatomy teacher lecturer, Miss Shizune went on and on.
A short break at eleven and the continuation of her classes at one for another five hours. The heavy list of subjects she was required to take were the norm for a med-student.
Around four in the afternoon, Sakura found herself slowly dozing off. The lecturer went on and on describing each subject with much detail but she couldn't help but to feel sleep drag itself closer and closer into it's grasp.
Just another average day in the average life of Sakura Haruno.
Averagely average Sakura, who was of average height, of average build, of average looks and besides a head of shocking pink hair, could turn no head on the street.
She grew up in an average home, raised by average parents, went to an average school, graduated averagely (ranking 175 out of the 350 students in her year), and was planning to continue her tertiary education in an average local university.
She liked her nice, average life. Rewinding itself like a clock everyday, every week, every month, every year. The same life, over and over again.
She yawned and sat up straighter, trying to focus on the topic at hand. No point paying for her college funds if she wasn't going to make full use of all her professors.
Yes, she thought to herself, scribbling furiously into a notebook, this was just the life she needed.
It might be boring, and dull as a rock, but at least it was peaceful and predictable.
Just the way she liked it.
Except that, Sakura sighed, eyeing the small pale figure squirming below her seat, and gave it a small shove. It disappeared with a squeak and fell through the fall, vanishing as fast as it appeared.
Perfectly average Sakura could see ghosts.
Little kids in closets, checked. Mysterious sounds from her attic, check. The occasional ghost under curtain, double check. Sakura had seen them all, and by this point, it hardly bothered her.
The first few years were hard, with those little critters following her like mad, popping up everywhere she went. In her sink, her dining table, even in her rice cooker. She remembered screaming her head off and running like a headless chicken, sobbing to her unfortunate parents who would just sigh. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get them to see the ghosts.
During the winter she turned 14, Sakura Haruno has decided she had enough of them ghosts, and slammed the bonnet of the car so hard on the ghost it dented. Did she get grounded? Yes. Was it worth the spanking she got? Not entirely. But at least she could now use the toilet in peace without wondering if her little 'friends' would pop out of the sink.
What Sakura learned was that fear was what drew all the undead to you, the lesser your fear, the lesser the ghost. Hardly anything they did fazed her anymore.
Knife through back? Swell. Missing heart? Splendid. You can take your head of your shoulders? Well, why don't you put it in my toilet so I can flush it down?
In short, even the most haunted of toilets couldn't even make her blink an eye.
And the ghosts hated that.
Her lecture ended, and she quickly got up and left the hall alone as groups of students began to form packs to plan outings for a meal together and whatnot. She did not need to be there, and there were better things for her to do at home anyway. The darkening sky forming stark shadows that made the corridor seem even creepier than it usually was. She quicken her pace when she heard a large group loudly laughing somewhere behind her.
It didn't matter.
Not that anyone invited out either anyway.
Even though she had never spoken to any of her course mates.
It was still fairly bright out as Sakura walked home. She stopped by an old eatery ran by a fairly nice older woman named Kurenai, who never had an unkind word to say and was generally a very pleasant lady.
'Hello Kurenai, she smiled and took a seat at one of the low coffee tables. The music playing in the background was classical, and soothed her immensely as she slung her backpack on the couch.
'Hey Sakura, lecture ending so late today?' Kurenai handed her a menu, she nodded, and stared at the colurful paper.
'What's great to go with coffee?' She asked, setting it down, too many choices made her head spin, and everything was just that good here.
Kurenai hummed. 'Well, I'll personally go for the apple and peanut butter combo sandwich, but knowing you, I think some blueberry pancakes would do the treat.'
Sakura agreed. Waffles did sound fantastic now. 'That will do, along with the biggest cup of coffee you have. I might have to stay up a little later tonight.' Kurenai winked back at her and disappeared into the kitchen.
The fading daylight made the whole city look brighter from her perspective, as groups of people flocked past the shop, all with a purpose, all with a sense of belonging. Laughing and talking as they passed her without a second glance. They were all so sure, so confident of themselves, as if life itself was one big journey. Sakura felt so lost in that retrospect, a lone tree in the barren land.
She felt very, very alone.
She quickly shook her head, best not get such thoughts here, she did not want to worry poor Kurenai. She quickly shoveled her delicious waffles and promptly paid for her meal.
'Sakura.' Kurenai cried out to her as she pushed through the door in an attempt to escape. 'You know.. If you need anything, I'm always here alright.'
Sakura faked a smile, 'Thanks Kurenai, but I'm alright.' And left before the other lady could stop her.
Deep down inside her, she knew she was everything but alright, and there was nothing anyone could do to help her.
At seven in the evening, Sakura Haruno returned to her empty college dorm, ignoring the signs of life all around her as she stepped into the dreary space and shut the outside world out.
She took a quick bath, brushed her teeth and changed into a comfortable top and shorts. With her towel still draped around her shoulders, Sakura began to review her notes from the day before.
And it is just like that, time flies. Sakura concentrated on her work, ignoring the occasional moan or flickering lights that occured, as long as nothing really happened, she would be alright. It has always been like that.
By ten minutes to twelve, Sakura Haruno was in her room and getting ready to sleep after another perfectly average day.
She did her final rounds, chasing away any stray ghost to avoid anything funny happening to her while she slept.
Every now and then she would get another visitor, but they never lasted for more than a few minutes, disappearing quickly and were soon replace by another pale looking figure. The dead were always a little strange, with their pitch black eyes and weird mannerisms. It was as if they were little mimes, especially when they wore their little white outfits.
Her average life was left in peace.
Exactly how she wanted it to be.
By the time Sakura was in bed, her digital clock beeped exactly twelve in the morning. She closed her eyes and waited for sleep to come.
Nothing would disturb her peace. She absolutely wouldn't allow it.
Even if she wanted something more.
Even if she wanted to be more than who she was destined to be.
That night, Sakura Haruno fell asleep with doubts clouding her average mind.
That was until, a man in black climbed out from under her covers.
And for the first time in 6 years, Sakura Haruno's average life was left to crumble in shambles.
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AN: Hello! My name is sparrowfeathers and welcome to What lies beneath! Hopefully, I'll get around to finishing this story *crosses fingers*
It was an idea I've been playing around for some time and I sincerely hope that we will have a wonderful journey together.
Fair warning though, this is an AU story and it can get pretty dark in certain chapters, so expect some OOC-ness. Like some things just wont fit, while some characters will be a little different. But I assure you, I'll try my best to keep everyone as realistic as I can.
Speaking of dark scenes, it will be kept mostly to the later chaptes, but I will try my best to balance it out to keep it from being too depressing.
I'll be basically keeping every chapter short and sweet, for update reasons. Updates will hopefully frequent, even daily if you guys are very nice *winkwink*
Next chapter: Sakura does not appreciate her vistor, not at all
Revision 1 (21/1/16): Rewritten almost entirely for better story flow, grammatical errors corrected.
R&R