I've decided to update this chapter, it just doesn't seem to catch what Im reaching for. Hopefully this works out better! Let me know what you like about it.
I apologize for my long absence from writing on this site. I've still been a creeper who keeps up on reading other stories, I haven't had much time to myself for the longest time to really spend effort on my own material. There have been times were I've been really motivated, but I've gotten so busy that I lose all my ideas along the way. Things are looking up for me now though, and I plan to hang around for a good while.~ I wish for you all to be entrapped in this new story I'm excited about!
Peace~
Summary: Sakura, after the mysterious death of her parents, has become an infamous paranormal investigator. However, she has her own past she's running from. She's on the verge of hanging up her ghost hunting jacket until the curse of Uchiha manor comes her way. She becomes completely ensnared, nobody besides the Uchiha have been allowed in the house since the Uchiha massacre 100 years ago. It's predicted to be the most haunted house in America, and she can't turn it down. She meets Sasuke, the last main descendant who seems aloof and out of time. It can't be a haunting if you're not dead after 100 years, right? Her meddling with the supernatural may catch up with her this time.
X
Prequel
"Hand me the Ovilus!"
A small square device was smushed into her hand quickly. She flipped the switch and cackled to life briefly before it was silent again. Thomas, Sakura's blue-capped companion, held a portable camera up and close to his body as if he was afraid to take up too much space in the room. He intently kept the camera facing ahead of them, in case he and Sakura missed any activity or moving shadows in the house. It was the haunting hour, right on the dot, as they arrived and entered the little prairie house. They both wore dark wash jeans and dark hoodies to blend in to the night. Sakura kept her pastel hair pulled back and hidden in her hoodie so she didn't stick out. Her shoes were simple converse and a little worn, but quite against the floor boards. All their equipment was tightly packed in a forest green backpack that Thomas was selected to carry. Other cameras were strewn across several areas in the house; so far nothing had been recorded, but their endeavors were just beginning.
They had just been in this living room only 10 hours prior, sitting with a lovely family who were stricken with fear and grief. This is where Sakura would begin her search. Thomas preoccupied himself with the corner of the room. He felt more comfortable with a solid wall behind him so he could keep an eye on everything and prevent anything from sneaking up behind him. He occasionally darted his camera in different directions, fearing the many shadows that came with the late hour. The night knew how to play tricks on the simple minded.
Sakura rolled her eyes at his paranoid antics, and openly proceeded around the room with confident strides and genuine interest. Printed furniture, bright vases dulled in the absence of light, and old knick-knacks and china in shelves and a curio. It was supposed to be a little grandma dream home during the day. She sat down on the floral print couch, sinking into the cushions and leaning her head back. She closed her eyes in concentration and rested the ovilus in her lap. She breathed in deeply and listened.
All she could hear was Thomas' fidgeting as stood in the corner, zooming the camera into where she was sitting. They both stayed in silence, listening for 5 minutes before she opened her eyes. "Nothing so far." She concluded, as if answering an unheard question. She pulled out a small sheet and flicked her flashlight on that had been resting on her hip. It was a small drawn map of all the rooms in the house. She contemplated where to go next. "Maybe we should try the kitchen?" Thomas suggested. Sakura hadn't so much as searched the room, but he knew that Sakura had a way about knowing things. He relaxed, if she said nothing was here than there was nothing here.
Sakura nodded, careful to keep the ovilus in clear view, and continued on to where she remembered the kitchen was. Thomas made sure to follow on her heels like he was afraid to be left alone. Sakura and Thomas had a strange dynamic ever since they had started doing this. They had done several cases this way, but the fear and paranoia Thomas felt while creeping around someone's house never faded. Sakura, on the other hand, is never afraid, and tells him to grow some balls. He would begrudgingly continue on, because her confidence is comforting at times.
The money is also a huge benefit.
They clear the entire first floor and end up empty handed. They loop through the main rooms and Sakura's steps get a brisker with each one. Maybe there's nothing here after all? She begins to get frustrated, because she feels like she must be missing something. So far, they've come up short and she isn't sure what she's doing wrong. Her intuition leads her to the foyer. Her grip on the ovilus tightens as her head turns to peer up the stairs to the second floor. She pauses to go over everything discussed earlier, trying to remember anything she's missed. Thomas senses her frustration, and back-walks to give her space. However, he is still facing forward to keep the camera locked on Sakura and doesn't see the end table behind him. "Woah." His back hits the corner of table, and he spins around to sturdy it out before the vase on top goes toppling over. Thankfully, the plant in the vase is fake so no dirt falls out. He lets out a sigh of relief. In the dark he can see it is a bright blue pot with fake hibiscus flowers flowing out. He sets the camera down on the table, still pointing Sakura, and fixes his mess.
Sakura is angry, about to lecture him about being quite at this time of night, when she feels it.
She's never known what it is, she calls it her intuition, but suddenly something changes around them. She closes her mouth that was ready to spew chastising words and holds the ovilus out again as if catching fireflies. "Something's here." She whispers. Suddenly her ear blares, and she's clutching at her earpiece before she goes deaf. Poor Thomas, not prepared for the abrupt noise, jumps a foot in the air and knocks over the vase he had so delicately fixed. Jonathan, the man behind the scenes, yells into the receiver "We have movement upstairs in the old bedroom!" Sakura curses at his loud tone. Why does everyone around her have to be so loud at a time like this?! But she cannot be distracted by these idiots around her or else she'll lose the trail she just picked up. Her intuition requires her to remain collected and organized.
She pinches the bridge of her noise and takes a deep breath. She reaches up and gently presses the button on her earpiece with her forefinger and replies "Next time give us a warning before you blow our eardrums out." She doesn't expect a reply, but before the communication is cut off she hears him snickering to himself. Unlike Thomas, Jonathan remains in the comfort of his high-tech van, watching all the rooms that they've set cameras in.
Jonathan's comment confirms her theory. Something is upstairs. She waves Thomas to follow her with a flick of the wrist and tests out the first stair. It's a beautiful polished wood and relatively modern which means it won't creak as much when venturing further. After making sure it won't make a lot of noise, Sakura continues her ascent on the stairs with caution and determination.
Thomas pulls out his flashlight and flicks it on in an attempt to see past the black mass at the top. He stands on his toes to see any remnants of the upstairs hallway but can't see anything at the top past Sakura. She turns to him at the top of the stairs and cocks her eyebrow at him as if to say 'are you coming?' and continues on without any reply. Thomas shakes his head; weren't all girls supposed to be at least a little afraid of the dark?
Thomas reaches the top, flashlight first, to find that Sakura is stopped in the middle of the hallway deep in thought. With her forefinger and thumb resting on her chin and distant gaze glued to the wall, she is somewhat lost and indecisive. Finally she notices that Thomas has reached her, and clarifies what's suddenly bothered her. "We never checked the basement." She ponders. "We didn't have to, Jon said the only activity we've had is up here." Thomas replies.
"But, they said the basement is where they've had the most trouble…and yet we've had nothing. Isn't that strange?" She questions. Thomas shrugs his shoulders, "we can't control how these things work." "Yes, I understand that perfectly well." Sakura retorted.
The air around them is cold and dense as they make their way steadily down the hallway. There are a couple doors up here, but Sakura knows which one they need to go to. The white-painted door on the far right is the one they're looking for. She feels static encircling her body as she stands in front of the door, one hand circling the knob. She hesitates only slightly, to make sure Thomas is ready, before slowly turning the knob and swinging the door open. She stands at the entrance to survey the room. She sees the making of a simple bedroom with a bed with white cotton sheets, a vanity littered with jewelry, a dresser that looked like several articles of clothing had been taken out, and a closed closet with shuttered doors. Her heart is light and fluttering, but her legs and pockets are heavy with anticipation.
Pushing past her heavy legs, she makes sturdy steps to the center of the room. Thomas remains in the doorway to capture the whole room on camera. Sakura sits down at the edge of the bed, and gently cups the ovilus. She holds it out again with a straight and assuring arm. "Is there anyone residing in this room." she asks in a concise voice. She waits a few beats, but she does not receive a response. She tries again. "Marianne, are you here?" Again, no response. Sakura frowns and then turns to Thomas, "Are you picking anything up?" she asks. Thomas shakes his head lightly. Maybe incentive is needed before she receives any feedback. She reaches into her pocket to feel the cool metal over her fingers. And suddenly the atmosphere stiffens.
"…emerald.."
Sakura's ears perk at the wispy voice resounding from the speaker. Thomas freezes on the spot. Sakura attempts to stay calm, clutching the jewelry in her pocket before pulling out to reveal what she's been hiding. It's a beautiful emerald jewel, dangling off a long golden chain that shimmers under the beams of Thomas' flashlight. She delicately places it next to her, she knows how important the necklace is. "Your daughter gave this to me to return Marianne. Are you angry that your granddaughters took it?" The necklace was an heirloom belonging to Marianne, but Claire and Anne had taken it a couple weeks ago out of grief. They wanted something to remember Marianne by after she had passed away in her sleep. She had been laying on the bed Sakura was sitting on when she had gone.
"…no…" the small voice whimpered.
Sakura sat up straighter and looked at Thomas again. "Are you getting this?" She asks him. He nods his head yes, afraid that his voice will fail him at the moment. The interaction is easygoing, which was more than what she could say for most of her jobs. She looks around at for any visible evidence of the entity called Marianne, but she doesn't see anything.
Wait, she sees a straight reflective light at the vanity. There's a part of the mirror that's slightly warped, in the shape of a head and shoulders. Sakura slowly raises her hand to point at the vanity. Thomas follows her lead and jumps back into the wall in shock when he sees the small darkened indent on the vanity chair. There's a slight shake in his hands as focuses the camera. Sakura ignores him and speaks again. Her voice cuts through the silence like a knife.
"Marianne, whats keeping you hear? Your family loves and wants you to continue on peacefully-"
SLAM!
Sakura's breathe hitches and Thomas yelps at the sudden clatter. It was resounding and loud coming from somewhere else in the house.
"…closet…"
The ovilus wasn't coming in as clear as before with static breaking up the woman's voice. Sakura is having trouble hearing what the deceased woman is saying; it had sounded like she was trying to say something was in a…closet? 'That's strange, is there interference going on? But the ovilus shouldn't be able to pick up other wavelengths.' Sakura cranks the volume up on the little paranormal machine. As Sakura tinkers with the device she completely misses the Bang! Bang! Bang! coming from downstairs.
Thomas, now pale as a ghost (pun intended), had not missed it.
Thomas whips his head around, his hooding swooshing down as he stares down the hallway. Using his flashlight, he creeps to the edge of the hallway and peers down the stairs with the most delicate steps he can muster. He strains his eyes for anything, but everything is so dark he can't see past the beam of his flashlight. The earpieces blared to life again and Thomas almost drops his flashlight. His heart is ready to explode out of his chest at this point with all the sudden boisterous noise. "We have movement in the basement! There was a shadow before the basement door opened by itself!" Sakura stops her fiddling, eyes widening at the sudden news. Thomas comes running, all delicacy forgotten, back down the hallway. "Sakura did you-"
"Yes I heard it." She replies quickly. She stops messing with the ovilus and looks around. Thomas is leaning on the door frame and panting. The manifestation that had been in front of the vanity can no longer be seen and the indent on the seat is gone. Where had she gone? Did she disappear, or was she the one now making such an uproar?
"Marianne….are you still there? ….Is there anyone else that resides in this house?" Sakura is hesitant to ask these questions, and even more hesitant to hear an answer.
"…yes." Sakura's heart quickens. She had thought she'd missed something! How could be so careless and not do all of the research before coming in guns blazing! Sakura becomes frantic, and her words start to quicken and falter. Ghosts are one thing, but facing the unknown leaves too many uncertainties and probabilities of things.
"Who is it? Where did they come from?"
"HANNYA…"
Creeeaaak
Heavy footsteps are resounding from down the hallway on the bottom of the stairs. The stairs hadn't creaked once when she or Thomas had gone up them, and it frightened Sakura that there was a presence that would intentionally make its presence known. No sensors had picked up any disturbances and no activity until now had been documented. Sakura felt an ominous feeling that something had been hiding from them this whole time. Thomas was surprised to see panic spread across Sakura's face with her eyes wide and nostrils flared.
"Who is it? Marianne," she paused, "what is it?"
"…"
Goosebumps ran across her flesh when all she received was a deadly silence. Ghosts were never just afraid of other ghosts. Or was there something more powerful, blocking Marianne from coming through to communicate?
"get…out…"
Sakura gasped. A deep male voice broke through the silence, but it didn't come through the ovilus. It had come from down the hallway, where the raucous had come from. Thomas decided to flee from the doorway to stand by Sakura's side. She shot up from her seat on the bed and sat still. For a moment, she thought her eyesight was going dark and fuzzy, but realization dawned on her like a cold draft. The walls. Dark blotches were staining the walls around them and the wallpaper began to peel. Sakura's hands shook.
Clack, clack. Slow footsteps were descending down the hallway as the room began to darken with each ghastly step. She needed to leave. They really needed to leave, now.
But there was an itching in the back of her mind. Marianne had been trying to tell them something. There was something in this room, right now. Her body lead her as she marched towards the closet. Thomas was confused and shivering, the temperature had dropped considerably. "What are you doing?" He seethed, terror pouring out in every word. She peered at the white shuttered doors of the closet. They were slightly chipped in between the shutters and the knob was missing. 'She was trying to say something about the closet.' Sakura contemplated. She peered suspiciously at the chips. "Sakura!" Thomas begged. He swiveled toward the door and held up the camera, but he couldn't keep his hands steady. She wiggled her fingers in between the shutters, and pulled hard.
"GIVE…IT…TO...ME…" The voice was getting louder and closer.
The doors hadn't even budged under her weight. There was definitely something here.
CRASH!
She heard glass shatter in the hallway. Sakura pulled her fingers free of the doors. Their time here was up. "We need to get out of here." She announced, bending over the bed to grab the necklace again. "Okay." Thomas says slowly. They don't have many options right now on exits, and he's not too keen on going past a possible poltergeist throwing a temper tantrum. Thomas heads for the door, but Sakura stops him with a clutching hand on his shoulder that's squeezing just a little too tight. He's stunned for a moment, he can see a genuine fear emerging in her normally bright green eyes. "Alright," he says quietly. Thomas feels as though Sakura's sent him a curve ball by switching their roles. Normally, Thomas would lean to Sakura for confidence, strength, and comfort in situations like this. This Sakura, with a slight shake in her hand, was new to him. "It's nothing we haven't dealt with before." He says, attempting to give her assurance, "we just have to rush past-"
She grabbed him with her free hand and yanked at his shirt. "No no no no. We don't go that way."
"Then where?"
Sakura's eyes are wide like saucers. She can see dark patches protruding off the skin on her hand. She desperately pulls away and starts frantically trying to shake whatever off. Thomas stares in shock, too fear stricken to ask what's going on.
Sakura's gaze beelines to the window. "Come on, the window should be unlocked."
"The window?"
She knows she shouldn't, but she feels her head swivel in slow motion as she turns toward the bedroom door. She sees it, oh god. She can see it.
A pale, bony hand gripping the door.
"Yes!"
BOOM!
Sakura darts for the window latch as the bedroom door slams against the wall. "Go, go, GO!" She knows not too look back again as she clumsily climbs her way out and jumps, reaching for anything. Sakura wasn't sure who screamed in those last moments, her or Thomas.
X
The television fizzes out as the tape ends abruptly. The last thing seen is Thomas' feet hitting the grassy ground and the silhouette of a panting Sakura on her hands and knees.
It's the next day, and here they are again, sitting in this small and flower printed living room. Sakura and Thomas share a floral loveseat across from 3 women on a matching couch with an elegant wood coffee table with a glass top between them. The TV is on a rolling cart just to the right of them, only showing static since the replay ended. Rosaline gets up to shut the small TV off with a tight lipped frown. Rosaline was the mother of the 2 girls beside her and daughter to Marianne; the entity Sakura had spoken with the night prior. She looked to be in her 50's, but the death of her mother had caused heavy bags under her eyes and unnecessary wrinkles. The oldest daughter, Tiffany, had her hands to her mouth as she continued to stare at the blank screen. She was the older of the sister's with her soft blonde hair pulled up and sat in a business suit like she had just got done with work. Anna, the youngest, had the most obvious distress with her mouth wide open and eyes squinty because they were close to tears. She looked around Sakura's age and was wearing jeans and a simple t-shirt with her slightly darker hair down. Her back was as straight as a board and she was barely keeping it together.
Sakura was now looking down at her hands with elbows bent on her knees. Thomas leaned back and rested his arm on the arm of the seat. "I'm sorry," Sakura started, leaning back up to catch their gaze, "I was unaware of the other entity. I wasn't able to communicate much with her. But now you know that she's not upset with you."
The mother was the least shaken, but the creases on her forehead deepened. She was trying to be strong in front of her daughters, reaching a hand over to hold Tiffany's hand. "My mother, is she trapped here by whatever else?" She croaked. Sakura bent down to her burgundy backpack in between her feet and pulled out a manila file. She flopped it open, pulling out a picture and setting it on the table facing Rosaline. It was an old Polaroid of a man, wearing a cotton newsboys cap and a snazzy cotton jacket with some slacks. Rosaline picked up the picture to look at it better, but the deepening frown and confusion in her brow said it all. She had no clue who this man was or why Sakura was showing her this. She voiced her concerns.
"That," Sakura reached over and pointed at the face in the picture, "was your mother's first husband, Henry."
"What?!" She pulled the picture in to study it more closely as if trying to recognize anything about him. "My mother was never married to anyone else besides my father…"
"That she told you about. I did some digging in the county records here. I also did some asking around to some old friends of Marianne's. Henry was so in love with your mother that he bought this house and proposed to her on this patio. They were high school sweethearts, and as a wedding surprise he bought her this beautiful house. However, before they could properly move in there was an accident. There was a drive-by shooting and Henry was hit accidently by some gangsters. He attempted to go to her, and died in her arms in the basement. She was devastated, but he had already given her the house and everything in it. She didn't have the heart to get rid of all of it. Two years later, a military man came to town under business. She was already working as a teacher at the time. A year later they married and he became your father. But originally, this was his house." Sakura motioned her finger in a circle. "All of this was his."
"Then that ghost was that man," Tiffany spoke up, "is he angry at her? For getting remarried?"
"I don't think so. He died suddenly and tragically. Under those pretenses, the ghost can become lost and warped. He's no longer himself, but I think he recognized something."
Sakura dug back into the manila folder and pulled out another old polaroid and slid it across the table. All three of the women gasped as they came face to face with the gold emerald necklace they had taken from Marianne's jewelry box. "This was his engagement gift to her, before the ring. I still have it in my pocket. You said the activity started a couple weeks ago?"
"Well, theres always been something off about the house, but yes. Things started moving and noises were being heard at night right after she passed. We felt as though its intent was to hurt us."
"He wasn't angry at Marianne, he was angry you took this necklace. The necklace, to him, was always meant for Marianne. And that also explains why he suddenly appeared coming up the steps. He somehow knew it was back in the house when I pulled it out."
"Well, what do we do?"
"Well, from what we've seen he's a potential danger to your family. Seems like the negative energy in the house increased, and his intent on scaring you away. Safe bet would be to purify the house, so Marianne can pass in peace and the other spirit will follow. "
"Why would he have to scare off her family though? We're no danger." Sakura peered at Thomas before answering, "one of you is."
"What do you mean?"
"Has anyone else been here besides you? Related or otherwise?"
"Not that I know of. Who else would be able to get in?"
"Marianne said something about her closet, but when I tried to open the doors it wouldn't move. The doorknob was missing, and there were chips in between the shutters."
"Are you saying the ghost didn't take off the knob? That is was someone else."
"No, the ghost most definitely took off the knob. But only to keep prying hands away. Why would the white paint on the closet doors be withered between the shutters? Somebody tried to open them the same way I did."
"Oh, I bet it was my sister Gertrude. Devil of a woman has been searching tooth and nail for my mother's will. I made a promise to protect my mother's jewels from her before she died!"
Clack!
Everyone in the room jumped.
"Why is he still doing things?" Anna cried.
A tink was heard in the front of the door way.
The women and Thomas shrunk back as Sakura jumped up to investigate. The noise had come from the stairway. Thomas huffed and dragged himself off the loveseat to catch up to Sakura's quick steps. Rosaline stood up and grabbed both girls hands, to follow and avoid being alone. Sakura hunted down where the noise had come from and stopped at the front of the steps, completely astonished and wide eyed.
"Sakura?!" Thomas exclaimed. He ran up and grabbed her shoulder, but he noticed that her focus was at her feet. He followed her gaze. And when the 3 women emerged they saw it too and gasped.
It was a small rusty doorknob.
Sakura broke out into a grin, and being the only one not frozen by disbelief bent down and picked it up.
"Let's go find out what's in that closet. Shall we?"
X
"Oh," Anna spoke her first breathless words since she had arrived, "look at all this!"
Jewels. Lots of jewels of all colors, hidden in a plain shoebox in the bottom of the closet that was buried under some discarded clothing. Rosaline was reading a folded paper she had found sitting at the top. "This, this her will! We could never find it, but everything's here!"
X
"Thank you, so much for helping us you guys!" Rosaline looked much cheerier and younger without the grieving creases in her face. "No problem," Thomas replied, "now we know that Marianne can rest in peace now that she's done what she needed to do."
"And hopefully Henry!" Sakura stated matter-of-factly. They were standing on the porch now, bidding their goodbyes. "Oh!" Sakura remembered. She pulled out the emerald necklace and held it out to Rosaline. "I forgot I still had this." Sakura said. However, Rosaline surprised her by wrapping the necklace back into Sakura's hand. "You keep it," She said warmly, "for helping us out." Sakura beamed and buried it safely back into her pocket.
They waved once more as they jumped into Thomas' silver Sudan. Jonathan had already left for home, so it was just the 2 of them. The engine roared to life as he pulled out of the long driveway. The prairie house faded in the rear view mirror as they drove out of the suburbs and into the city.
"So, are we not gonna talk about it?" Thomas asked, tilting his head in the driver's seat to see her expression. It was cool and collected as always.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Please, you were clutching my shoulder so hard you left marks. I've never seen you that scared. Of anything."
"Oh, that." Sakura never broke face. She was doing her best to ignore the gnawing sensation in her belly.
"Yeah, that."
"Nope."
"And why not?"
"Because you know why."
Thomas leaned back and sighed. Six years of friendship, and still she was shrouded in mystery. But she was the best damn paranormal investigator he had ever seen, and the best friend he could ask for.
Sakura sat back and pulled out the camera, looking through the footage for anything they might have missed. She still couldn't believe how she had reacted when 'Henry' had come through the speaker. It was a carnal fear that had consumed her, which was something she hadn't felt in a very long time. Something didn't seem right about him, or whatever she had seen. Henry had popped up in her frantic research when she was trying to find possible identities for their mystery hand, and he was the only reasonable explanation. But it was off. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was off.
Why had she seen her hand and the walls being engulfed in a dark substance?
She intently watched the replay as they cleared the main floor and made it to the bottom of the staircase. She rolled her eyes as the camera suddenly spun. Thomas really was clumsy at the worst times. The screen finally straightened, probably the moment when he was fixing the vase, when she noticed something. She reminded the part and paused.
The lens was facing her, showing an annoyed look on her face, but that wasn't what she was looking at. There was a shadow behind her. A tall, dense shadow in the archway of the other room. Her breath hitched. Had she been wrong?
Her hands shook until she dropped the camera.
"What the hell Sakura?!" Thomas yelled as he watched his baby fall under the seat. His cries fell on deaf ears. Because she had seen it. It had been in that house.
She had seen the glimpse of the red face peering through the dark in that screenshot.
End Prequel
X
Chapter 1
"Sakuraaaaaa!"
'Why can't she ever let me sleep in peace!' Sakura cracked open a single eye to glare at the woman who was peering over her sleeping form, hovering much closer than she should be. All Sakura could see was Ino's bright blue eyes and feel her obnoxious breath on her face. Sakura groaned and closed her again. Taking a case always messed up her regular sleep schedule she tried so vainly to stick to. She had an especially hard time going to sleep after her troubles with the last case she had done. She rolled over to face the wall and pulled the covers over her head in an attempt to escape her roommate, but Ino was a woman that loved attention and was very persistent at the absolute worst times. "Oi!" Sakura swore that this chick was yelling right next to her ear, "it's almost 2 o' clock in the afternoon Sa-ku-ra. Normally, I'd let you sleep the day away-"
"Bullshit you would." Sakura interrupted. Ino gave the pile of blankets a stern look before continuing, "buuuut I was being a good friend and reminding you that you have a date with Kenji today."
Sakura grumbled again. She had been so wrapped up in everything she had completely forgotten. Kenji wanted to have dinner tonight at 6, and if Ino wouldn't have woken her she might've continued to sleep through the day and miss her 'important' date. A patch of hair emerged from the blankets, as well as a little make shift hole for communication.
"Alright, I'll be out in a minute." Ino nodded and got out of the way, but kept her residing spot on Sakura's bed. Sakura popped her pink head out, noticing her blonde friend still staring at her.
"What?" Sakura asked. Ino leans back on her hands to make herself comfy like she's planning to have a full discussion. 'Great.' Sarcasm dripping in her mind. The girl had just woken her up, and know she was getting set on her bed like there was going to be a very lengthy discussion that Sakura didn't want to have.
Ino glances around the Sakura's room, taking in the cream walls and burgundy sheets. Sakura's room has always been simple, filled with books and paranormal equipment littered on the ground. Ino, unlike Thomas, had basically known Sakura all her life. She was there in Sakura's happiest moments as well as the most devastating ones. When Sakura's parents had died, it was Ino to the rescue. Ino pushed for them to be roomies in college and helped Sakura get through grief. So, Sakura figured that any weird antics or girly girl habits Ino wanted share with her, she would happily comply. And Ino knew that, because that's what best friends were for.
"You know," She started, "I used to come in here more often to wake you up before you slept through the day. Not as many cases these days?" So that's what Ino wanted to talk about.
"I've just had more shifts at the hospital lately. I don't have any time for more cases."
"Oh yeah?" Ino turned to her. "You make a lot of money doing all those cases though, I don't see why you even need your job at the hospital." Sakura sat up and stretched.
"Oh I dunno, maybe because I like helping people and you don't get any benefits from creeping around old houses?" Sakura pulled the covers back and got up. She turned away from the blonde, hoping that Ino would see her getting ready and leave her be. But Ino knew her 'I'm avoiding this' tactics already. She wasn't going to fall for them.
"Sakura…what's really going on with you?"
Damn, Ino was sharper than she was giving her credit for. Well, she reasoned, she had no motive to lie to her oldest friend. Ino had always been there for here through thick and thin. Ino never liked being out of the loop either and she wouldn't stop bugging Sakura until she found out. It was only a matter of time before Ino figured it out anyways.
"Alright, you caught me." Sakura put her hands up in surrender for emphasis. "I'm thinking about quitting the business. For good. It's starting to take a toll on things like my social life." Ino continued to stare at her not believing a word the rosette said.
"Since when have you cared about that kind of stuff? You take those investigations as serious as the hospital. There's something your still not telling me." She scrutinized. Nothing got past Ino when it came to her best friend.
"I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't have started it to begin with, my parents would want me to pursue something else."
"They would just want you to be happy Sakura. I thought that's what you were doing." Ino countered.
Sakura scoffed. "I just need to do this Ino. I can't sleep at night, all I have is these weird dreams since my last case. Something wasn't right about it. I can't help but feel like it's a warning."
"A warning for what?"
Sakura paused, staring hard at her dresser as if it was going to be difficult to even get the words out. "The hell if I know, but it hasn't been this bad since my parents passed. The more cases I do, the higher the chance that I'm going to run into something dangerous. Like a poltergeist, or like…."
"A demon?" Ino finishes. Sakura looks at her before turning her back to dig through her dresser. "Well, yeah. Last case, there was something about whatever was in that house that petrified me. I'm losing it."
Ino turned her gaze to the faded red carpet. The events surrounding Sakura's parent's death was still surrounded with mystery. There were things that Sakura to this day had been unable to tell her, but Ino knew that the paranormal had become a part of her life that day. Sakura chased after dead loved ones perhaps to atone for her own absence of family.
Ino also knew that doing these cases was Sakura's way of staying connected with her absent parents. Helping other families with deceased loved ones gave Sakura warmth in her heart. Ino sighed; she wasn't sure how to help her out.
"Would it help if I came along with you? It would be like old times."
Sakura snorted before replying, "I don't think so. You're the loudest person I know, and you're a bigger baby than Thomas is."
Ino pouted at her. "No I'm not!" Sakura selected a simple green lace dress and laid it out next to Ino.
"I'll be fine Ino. I'm just thinking that maybe it's time to stop chasing after the past." Ino got up and began to dig in Sakura's closet.
"Well, it's always your choice and you should choose what makes you happy." Ino pulled out some gold ballet flats and handed them to her.
"Thanks Ino."
"No problem. Now hurry up, I haven't been able to eat since you weren't up and I managed to burn some eggs." Sakura shook her head before quickly running a brush through her messy hair. "Don't you think it's time you learned to cook? How are you supposed to impress your future husband?" Ino stopped ahead of her and turned around.
"As if. I don't need to cook when I can impress a man with these." She lifted her hands to showcase her breasts. "And then I can find a husband who will cook for me, thank you very much." Sakura laughed.
"Until then, I'm the fill-in chef?"
"Of course!"
"Fine, but you have to make me look super-hot for my date tonight."
"Agreed!"
Sakura walked into the kitchen to hear her phone blaring. She unplugged the charger and saw Thomas' name lit up on the screen. She answered the call. "Hey, what's up? Life of accounting so boring that you have to bug me?" She teased.
"Ha ha. Very funny. But I'm not going to let you ruin my excitement. I just got off the phone with a client and your not gonna believe-"
"Thomas, I don't think I'm up for another investigation right now."
"What? You serious? Your gonna flip when you hear who it is though-"
"I don't need to know. Listen, I think we need to shut down and call it good. At least temporarily. I need some time to….myself."
The other end went silent, and Sakura wondered if he had hung up on her momentarily.
"Just hear me out on this, it's a big case. Consider it as going out with a bang or something."
Sakura sighed. "I can't do this right now, I have a date later and then we can talk. Okay?"
"Fine, but I will only wait so long Sakura!"
X
"Hey, Sakura? You there?" Sakura blinked and sat up. "I'm sorry Kenji, I spaced out a little."
The Stuffed Olive was a beautiful Italian restaurant in downtown Konoha. Kenji knew Sakura like Italian food, and since they hadn't seen each other within a week he felt the need to treat her. Kenji only had a couple pieces of risotto on his plate, while Sakura was still fiddling with some linguini noodles in her chicken Alfredo. He was animated and delightful. Proper and charming. To most women he was the perfect catch. An Ivy League man with a bright and pampered future ahead of him.
Sakura wasn't most women.
When they had first started dating a few months ago, she had felt that Kenji was the gentleman that she was looking for. He paid for their meals, even though she offered to pay, held the door open for her, and respected her privacy. Upon further inspection however she found herself bored and lacking interest in the relationship. All the man talked about was being a big shot lawyer and following in his father's footsteps. He was always trying to get her to come over and spend time in his family's summer home and talk to his mother about future plans. Things were going much too fast, and she wasn't sure that the attraction was as strong as it used to be. He had sharp looks, with combed blonde hair and sparkling chocolate eyes, but there was a smugness about him that she didn't like. He expected her to fall all over him, and when she didn't he would pout for a little before talking about how much money his family had. She didn't man who chased after validation of his importance to other people.
"My mother was asking about you again. She said it's been far too long since she's last seen you. You could join me by going up to the summer home this weekend, eh?"
Ah, there it was again.
"I'll have to check my schedule on that. Cases have been piling up on me lately." She fibbed.
Kenji's smile faltered, but he continued a cheery charade. Sakura knew that Kenji wasn't too keen on her late night activities, but he thought it was so cute how feisty she got when they talked about it so he let it slide. This was another thing that bugged her; his blatant disregard for the things that were important to her. She knew that she was currently contemplating ending it, but it wasn't his job to decide what she did.
"Actually, Kenji? I'm sorry, but I don't think this is working out between us."
Well, she hadn't expected to do that. But now it was out there and she couldn't take it back. She had been thinking about it for a while, his personality had smushed her attraction to him. She had thought giving it more time would make it better, but she realized that he wasn't going to change. At least, not with her anyways.
It seemed as though she had caught Kenji completely off guard as his face fell into shock and he dropped his fork which clattered onto his plate. He cleared his throat and composed himself as he was a man all about appearances. Making a scene would do him no good.
"Sakura, honey, why would you wanna break up?"
'Because you're a pompous daddy's boy? Because your boring and make fun of 'trivial' things I do?' She thought, but didn't voice them. She didn't want to hurt his feelings more than she needed to. "I just don't feel a connection. I'm sorry." His stare on her was hard, and she couldn't tell if he was going to yell at her or just walk out. He surprised her by laughing. "You know, I liked that you were different than the other girls I've dated and definitely interesting. I took that wall you hold up as a challenge, but I should've known better than to mess with damaged goods."
His last words sent a surge of emotions through her and before she knew it she was walking home in the overcast weather. Kenji had probably only said those things because he was upset, but that didn't make it hurt any less. He was lucky she didn't take a swing at him for saying such things, but she restrained herself because they had been in a public setting. It wasn't the first time she had gotten a response like that, and it probably wasn't the last. Yes, her parents dying had affected her, but she wasn't cold and she gave plenty of men chances to be included in her life. She had a heart and she followed whatever it told her. She just hadn't met a man that she truly wanted and she wasn't going to settle. 'Sakura Haruno is an independent woman who don't need no man!' her mind chimed.
Thunder roared to life in the sky. She looked up to the darkening clouds and cursed; her jacket didn't have a hood on it. Looks like she'd have to take a cab after all. She managed to waive a cab down before the rain came down, which was lucky for her because it began to pour as soon as she stepped in. The cab traveled another 7 minutes before pulling in front of the apartment building that she and Ino lived in. She dug into her small pink purse and pulled out the needed bills to pay the cab driver. She darted from the cab door into the apartment entrance but still managed to get drenched due to her light attire.
The elevator was broken, causing Sakura to promptly yank off her shoes and climb 8 flights of stairs. This was turning out to be a terrible day for her, Ino should've let her just sleep through it! She fumbled with the keys when she got to her door, and then slammed the front door with more force than necessary when she got in. Ino was off visiting her parents at the time, so her plan was to take a hot shower and wallow in front of the TV. But she didn't even make it 2 strides before there was a loud and insistent knocking at her front door. "For the love of-ugh!" Sakura marched back to the door, still soaking wet and not in her pajamas to rip the door open. "What the fuck do you want?" Sakura shouted. She then saw that it was Thomas, dripping wet and panting, at the front of her door. She pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger in frustration. "Thomas, I told you that I would call you later." She said calmly, stepping aside to let him in.
"I couldn't wait that long, this is important!" She sighed. Really, bad luck followed her everywhere. "Fine, let me go grab some dry clothes for both of us and then we can talk about it."
X
"I can't take you seriously in those clothes." She giggled. Thomas glared at her in return; it was her clothes he was wearing after all.
Sakura and Thomas currently sat adjacent to each other with Sakura lounging in the arm chair and Thomas on the couch. He had spread out several papers he had miraculously kept dry in front of him on a black coffee table. Both of them were now comfy in dry clothes with a cup of hot cocoa at their disposal. It wouldn't be right to take any of Ino's clothes for Thomas, and the only clothes Sakura had that was big enough to fit Thomas were a pair of her pajamas.
A pair of fleece pajamas with purple kitties on them. Sakura was wearing similar pajamas that had a stripped pink green yellow pattern on them.
"Shut up and focus." He replied. "I know you said you're thinking of quitting, and I totally get it. I do. But I think this is something you're going to want to look at before you decide anything. It's the curse on Uchiha Manor."
X
Well, this has officially been revised! Let me know how you like the new version. I feel like it leads into the story better.
Hannya- a Japanese mask used in old theater to represent a demon or a dragon. This will be important in later chapters, so pay attention.
Please R&R, it's been a while since I've written anything so I might be a little rusty. I'm good with criticism, but no flames please.