So this is my first Naruto fanfiction. Um... please go easy on me! Anyways, warnings about this: SasuSaku pairing, Alternate Universe, and lots and lots of swearing. Well it's rated T for a reason... This chapter's very short, but don't worry, the following ones will be longer.

Full future genre: romance/drama (maybe? I've never tried my hand at it)/action/adventure/lame humor

Disclaimer: Yeah, I started drawing Naruto when I was in my single digits because I'm a child prodigy. What do you mean I'm not? Oh, then I guess I don't own it…

Velocity: (Derived from Velocitatem, Latin. "Swiftness, speed") The rate of speed of action or occurrence.

Why Thank You Mister Ghost

'Be grateful you can see the sky.' Her parents would chide her as a child. And Sakura was. Every time she saw a doll in the window or candy in the sweets shop, she'd peek up at the sky beneath thick lashes and repeat the phrase under her breath over and over (in later years, she suspected this to purely be an effortless method to escape the expensive toys). Having grown up with the saying breathing down her neck, it was second nature to be grateful for what she had.

So when the car came swerving down the street and all she was able to see was red, she wondered if she should be grateful that Ino had gone to school an hour ago, before consciousness too, was lost in red.

Life was such a fickle mistress.

"…suffering from a concussion, nothing too severe. She's acquired various contusions and lacerations, as you've seen, but the x-rays show there to be no internal injuries. Lucky girl, she can start walking whenever she wakes, though it'd be best for her to take it easy. Having your brain rattled around does a number on your head." The voice was male, professional, muffled as if in a mask, with a discernable lacing of this-is-mind-numbingly-boring in every syllable.

"Will she wake up soon?" This one was also male, though mostly monotonous solemnity as if he was constantly visiting funerals.

Every utterance made her ears ring as if there was a vibrating cellphone lodged in her skull. Where was she? Why did she feel so disoriented?

"She would wake up sooner if you had left her in the hospital. Just ask for scans and Dr. Hatake won't work every time you give a pretty girl a concussion."

"You know I can't. They would have asked for names sooner or later."

"Yes, yes. Your low-key lifestyle and the company are much more important than a stranger's life."

"When will she wake up?" Male number two repeated.

Male number one chuckled lightheartedly. "She's already regained consciousness, Sasuke-kun. Now… little lady, would you care to open your eyes?" Sasuke… why did that name sound familiar?

When no other girl replied, Sakura suspected the 'little lady' to be herself. Not wanting to be discourteous, she forced an eye open, pupil dilating at the sudden light bursting to her retina. The cellphone developed into a full-fledged jackhammer and the world rushed at two-hundred miles an hour. A groan of pain, haggard and dry, escaped. It was so different than her usual voice that it took a few seconds to comprehend it as her own. She slowly adjusted, chancing to utilize both eyes.

"Ah yes, you should have a drink now that you're awake. It's been at least seven hours." The blasé man remembered and held up a sloshing cup. The first thing she noticed was not his white doctor's coat, nor the gray, no—silver, impossibly wild hair (strange for a person looking to be in his twenties), but his heavily lidded obsidian eye. The left was concealed in an eye patch, but the single visible one appeared to perceive everything, as if holding wisdom and sadness beyond his years. It was disconcerting despite his smile—was that a smile? She couldn't tell behind his doctor's mask.

Sakura pushed up to a sitting position and took the cool glass in both shaky hands. She noticed for the first time that she was resting on a white cot, in her school clothes (thankfully), but with a good amount of her skin was covered in fresh bandages. Her face stung, her arms hurt, her legs hurt, and there was something raw and constricting on her left side. Did she somehow get hurt? Was this a hospital? The surroundings were all a sterile white, almost as uncomfortable as the doctor's gaze. "Now that she's awake, I'll leave everything to you. I'm a very busy man, and making house calls is taxing on my schedule, Sasuke-kun."

"Don't use that honorific with me Kakashi, it's sickening. And what do you mean busy? You took so long I had to take care of the injuries. It's lucky I know first aid."

Kakashi chuckled. "Look underneath the underneath, Sasuke-kun."

Was that a cryptic message? She pondered thoughtfully. Maybe these strangers had a saying, like her family's own.

Sasuke snapped, "Whatever, just go." His head was turned to the departing doctor so only his rebellious black—almost dark blue spikes were visible. When the door clicked shut, he returned her gaze and she forgot how to breathe.

Sakura's first definition for him was ghost (a beautiful, stunning ghost), with his obsidian glare contrasting pale skin. He was all black and white, a striking monochrome spirit, expression guarded, drawn into an apathy more daunting than either white rooms or silver-haired doctors. She shivered and downed the water in one go. Her stomach protested.

"Haruno Sakura. Age seventeen. Born in the Fukushima Prefecture but currently attends her third year of school at Konohagakure High School in Shinjuku, Tokyo and is occupying the residence of childhood friend, Yamanaka Ino." He said as if reciting a profile. Sakura felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and ignored the nausea bubbling in her stomach.

"Why… am I here?" She breathed cautiously. The last thing she saw was a car rushing headfirst at her before she woke up in an unfamiliar room covered in bandages.

Sasuke sighed in annoyance. "Unfortunately, I've made a foolhardy mistake, and I always fix my own blunders. Damn cat…" The last part was a whisper to himself, almost inaudible to Sakura's muddled senses.

You don't have to be so aggravated, Sakura thought. "Would you care to tell me why you have personal information about me?"

"That? It's no effort to search for a profile of a girl with naturally pink hair." He shrugged.

To think it to be easy to get a hold of private information on any random stranger, "Who are you?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

And then it all made sense. Uchiha was almost a household name, next to Hyuuga and other prestigious companies in Japan. The heir to a large business corporation, Uchiha Sasuke. The prodigy, Uchiha Sasuke.

The person who hit her with a car, Uchiha Sasuke.

"I've already covered your medical bills and called the school you're out sick. We'll send you back tomorrow, but for now you may take a guest room." He planned, looking less than happy. Sakura on the other hand, was trying to comprehend what exactly was happening.

Unable to do so, she did the next best thing. She panicked. "W-wait! Couldn't I just—"

"No. Unless you know the direction back to Yamanaka's house."

Regrettably, she still had trouble finding the school and back.

And so due to unlucky circumstances on an unlucky day, she was trapped in a stranger's house for the night. She wondered if she should be grateful that she wasn't dead.

A/N: I-I didn't know how to tie it all together in one chapter when I decided to show only Sakura's thoughts. Uh… ignore the plot holes. I covered them with rotting wood. Hahaha.

Something I'd like to know: Does Velocity or Velocitatem feel more aesthetically pleasing as the title?

Some things you might like to know:

I moved this from another account of mine after really, really reconstructing it to the EXTREEEME. Wooo.

(1) In Japan, they use the surname first, then given name.
(2) Shinjuku's on the main island of Japan, Honshu. I… don't really know much about Japanese geography though so you can correct me if you spot any mistakes.
(3) I'm no doctor like Kakashi. So I take no responsibility for the crap I may make up. But I'm sorry if I do just that.
(4) Man this chapter's so short it's depressing me beyond measure… I think I'm gonna go find some rope now…
(5) Before I do, I just wanna say any grammar/spelling/idiot mistakes are because I do this without a beta. Japanese school system mistakes in the future are entirely my fault. I don't like digging deep into my research.

Reviews make my day. I love feedback on my work. More hits but no reviews sadden me greatly. But I'll still spam the overflowing Naruto fanfiction with my own anyways. Mwuahaha.