Hello again~ I appreciate those who reviewed! I'm sorry, but it does take a little build up for good stories and I'm trying to make it the best I can, so bear with me please:3
A lot more information is laid out in this chapter, and I also show a preview at the end of Sasuke and Sakura's first meeting ;) Originally more was included in this chapter, but it was getting too long so I had to split the chapters up.
XX
"Well, it doesn't look dark and dreary. It doesn't even look like the picture." Sakura declared. She stood next to Thomas with her burgundy bag slung over her shoulder. They peered up from the bottom of large white steps in front of a beautiful craftsman-style mansion. It had a wide white-stained porch and primp rose bushes that were perfectly clipped surrounding the house. Romanesque cream beams that looked strong enough to hold up the whole structure supported the porch. The grass seemed impossibly green and the roundabout driveway was long and immaculate as it curved up to the house. It seemed open, peaceful, and hardly haunted to Sakura. Perhaps they had the wrong address. She had been so cranky for getting up early on the weekend that she might've mixed up the numbers for the house address on the GPS.
"This isn't the Manor." Thomas clarified. "She said that nobody's ever been able to live in the manor for decades. The property was passed down to her but there's so much activity in the house that nobody can seem to make it a day in there before they're scared shitless."
Most hauntings were bearable to a point, even those that had more activity. They were scary but families couldn't afford to be driven out of their homes so easily. They lasted a couple months to around 2 weeks usually, some even braved it for years. But a day? What could possibly be going on in that house? Sakura should've had warning bells going off in her mind. But her curiosity was reigning over any fear that she should've felt. She was always up for a challenge.
She had to be careful though. Curiosity could be blinding, and a small voice in the back of her mind was trying to remind her that with excitement came unbridled danger. Something she should know very well by now.
"Has anyone else besides an Uchiha tried to live in the house before?"
"The manor is like a landmark to the Uchiha; it was created to be the residence for the heir and main family. They would never allow anyone from a different lineage to live there."
"They're that traditional huh?"
"Apparently. Now, let's go meet the nice lady, shall we?"
She was actually excited to meet this lady who held all the secrets to this 'Uchiha curse' that she had been hearing about since she was twelve. She was going to be the first outsider to enter the haunted halls of Uchiha manor, and find the truth. She reveled in solving such a coveted mystery herself; which is exactly what Thomas had been counting on.
XFlashback to last nightX
Sakura rose a green mug of hot cocoa to her lips, carefully lifting it by the handle while shuffling through some of the papers on the table Thomas had spread out. She had her legs crossed indian-style comfily on the armchair. The television in the room had been turned on, but only to fade as white noise in the background so they didn't have to listen to the downpour of rain outside. Sakura was preoccupied on reading through the information that Thomas had already gathered on the 'Uchiha curse'. Most of it she already knew about from typical scary tales. Everyone knew about Uchiha Manor. It had been the subject of campfire horror stories and sleepover scares as she was growing up.
Hundreds of investigators were dying to test it out, but the Manor was in a remote location that only the Uchiha knew about. Perfect for tweens to hide behind trees and scare their peers with pretend ghosts of the forest as they were camping. She had only heard a little bit of what had actually happened to the Uchiha family back then, they called it a plague from the early 1900s that almost wiped out the whole clan.
It was believed that something had set a curse on them, whether it was a maid that dabbled in voodoo or a scorned mistress that made a deal with the devil. Everybody just believed they had contracted a nasty virus. Or that the devil called upon them and their bloodline turned black (hence the dark features like black hair and eyes), ultimately damning their souls to prey on the living (highly doubtful). But tall tales always exaggerated stories. Sakura guessed it was poison from the scorned mistress, and they died so suddenly that their souls became trapped in the house if it really was haunted. But that's why she was here; to put the stories to rest and find out the truth.
'What happened to hanging the ghost hunting jacket up?' She chastised herself. All day her thoughts had been surrounded at working out a more normal life for her. Leave the past the way a woman should. She could work full-time at the hospital, find a decent guy to move out with, be married and start a family in less than 5 years. That was what she wanted? Right? Or maybe it was what she felt she needed; living an estranged life was impeding on her place in society. Not that she had much of one anyways. Soon enough she would turn into a hermit that only hangs around empty houses listening for disembodied voices. Or maybe she would suffer the same fate her parents had and not live long enough to reach that point.
No. She needed to quit. She needed to live the life her parents wanted her to have.
But it all seemed so boring. She internally frowned at the turmoil this was bringing her. Curse Thomas for dragging these Uchihas into her life, she had been so determined to call it quits earlier! Going into one of the most haunted places such as this was what Sakura had been waiting for.
"Who is this?" Sakura asked. She held up a small square paper to show him. It was a current picture of a woman who looked to be in her mid-40s with long black hair and matching eyes. She wore a dark blue dress and a necklace with a symbol she knew to be the Uchiha emblem. She graced a small smile and slightly creased eyes. She seemed to be pleasant enough. Thomas leaned over and looked at the picture before replying, "Oh, that's the client. She's like the granddaughter of the main family or something. Said that she wants to clear up the bad energy in the house."
"A hundred year old bad energy huh? Sounds…"
"Interesting? Intense? Scary beyond all reason?" Thomas guessed.
"Challenging." Sakura finished.
Thomas smirked. "But that's how you like it though, right?" She glared at him, but they both knew he was right. Sakura was never one to shirk away from adventure; it was like she had a magnetic pull towards the undiscovered. Or maybe it seemed to be the other way around for her. Strange situations had been weaseling into her adult life for so long she'd grown a weird but welcome bond with it. She sighed. There it was. She could feel it. She was going to give in. Only this last time though. This would be her last case. Ever.
"Alright, you win for now. When do we meet her?"
"Pack your stuff, we gotta be in Virginia by tomorrow evening."
"Ugh. You never give me time to plan ahead."
XBack to the PresentX
They walked up a few flights of stairs and up to the decorated carved-wood double doors. Sakura raised her hand to test of the rustic door knocker, but the door opened before she could use it. There stood a pale man with inky hair in a full pressed suit. He greeted them, but his unnatural smile and monotone voice seemed off to her. It was an unnatural niceness, the way he looked at them, as if he wasn't used to smiling.
'Why are the butlers always strange?' She wondered. It wasn't just his disposition that was eccentric. He was incredibly pale as if he'd never seen the sun. His murky bangs fell neatly into his eyes, which seemed to look past her as if avoiding true eye contact. He was close to ranking number 1 on her shady characters list.
Thomas' grandma still held the trophy. That old lady was something else.
"The misses is this way, in the drawing room." He said flatly. Sakura and Thomas followed the angular man who, upon closer inspection, didn't seem to be any older than them through the elaborate mansion. Thomas leaned over to whisper to Sakura, "I didn't even know 'drawing room' was a thing anymore." The tips of Sakura's lips twitched upwards. She whispered back teasingly, "That's because you're not a billionaire that can afford rooms with fancy names."
They were led down a large hallway and into a room with a couple desks and hundreds of books littering the walls. The room had wood flooring with a large royal blue rug that contained an arabesque pattern on it with tassels at the ends. Surprisingly, it wasn't explicitly lavish and was of moderate size. In the midst of the room sat the client, the woman who had looked so delicate in her picture. She sat in a fauteuil, a sophisticated chair that had carved patterns in the arms with dull blue satin cushions. It seemed perfect for her, with her legs crossed and her arms folded in her lap. She wore her long midnight hair down, with a red cardigan with a black sheath dress and simple black heels.
She got up quickly to greet them. Sakura felt slightly out of place in her dark blue jeans and mint green zip up jacket. It was like she was underdressed for a job interview, except they were the ones that would be asking questions. At least she wasn't the only one though. Thomas' jeans were worn out and he wore an old band t-shirt from a local band from his hometown in Indiana. She came up to them as if they were already friends, extending a cordial hand and shaking Sakura's excitedly. "Well hello," she greeted in a soft voice, "I'm Mikoto. I'm so glad you came. Please! Sit down and make yourselves comfortable." She held out her hand to guide her guests to a canape that matched her own chair. They sat across from each other, and the client went back to crossing her legs and smiling at them.
She hadn't seen the clients name on the picture, but then why did Mikoto sound so familiar?
It clicked a few seconds later.
"Mikoto? You're named after one of them?" Sakura blatantly asked. 'Way to be rude. Does rich people make you so nervous that you forget your manners?' Her inner berated.
She slightly flushed. "Yes, I know. Some people think it might be in bad taste to be named after the deceased. But it is also a way of honoring my family members. I myself did the same thing with my son."
Oh, how insensitive of Sakura to bring it up! When she had heard the name she had only thought of the sick mother who had died from this 'curse'. She thought it was strange that someone would name their child after someone who had suffered a traumatic experience, but it also might be a traditional name passed down in the family. Either way, it wasn't Sakura's business.
The butler came to her side to stand next to her chair and handed her a glass of water. She thanked him before introducing him to Sakura and Thomas. "This is Sai, my right hand man. Would either of you like any refreshments? I think it's important for you to be completely at ease." Both declined the offer politely and Sai left the room and closed the door behind him; most likely to fulfill other duties in the house. "I apologize if Sai seems somewhat off-putting, even after all this time he is still learning the customs here."
'More like learning how to be a normal human being if you ask me.' Sakura thought, but she had already said too many rude things to this polite woman in front of her. It was a good thing that Mikoto seemed to be a laid back women, otherwise she was sure she would be on the Uchiha bad shit list. Which wasn't something to be taken lightly for how powerful a family they were.
Sakura had done plenty of reading up on the Uchihas as well as the Uchiha Corp. last night. A very popular tech company that dominated the industry. A majority of hardware found on the shelves of stores had the Uchiha insignia. The company also had a hand in the weapon's industry, which she found odd. Weapons and computers usually didn't go together very well, but big companies were known for having their hands in everything. It made Sakura wonder if this polite woman was capable of making cut throat decisions and dealing with harsh businessmen.
She started, "first let me thank you for coming all the way here. I'll give you any gas money that it took to drive here."
Thomas went to tell her how much it took with the long hours of driving, but Sakura stopped him short. He was so finicky when it came to money. "No need for that, were here to help." Sakura smiled at the woman, who simply reflected one back. Sakura elbowed Thomas as a reminder to use his manners. He coughed from the force of the blow but complied.
"I guess I should begin, since I've called you here and everything." She lifts a small hand to take a sip of her water slowly as if contemplating how to explain. Her eyes don't quite meet theirs as she sets her glass down. "As you might have heard, the Uchiha manor has been having some strange activity for over a hundred years or so. We've had others look into it, but none that can…handle it. Or be trusted. My son told me about you from an article he read. It says you're the best at this kind of stuff, communicating and figuring out what happened to them."
She hadn't known that there was an article written about her exploits; it struck her as odd. Paranormal activities usually didn't get much attention except for the usual crazy magazines that had headlines like 'I married an octopus from outer space'. She didn't think people like the Uchiha read that stuff though.
XX
"Even the most dreadful things are created with good intentions." Mikoto began, a sad smile breaking out on her face as if she knew it all too well. The look in her eyes and the way she started ringing her hands uncomfortably made Sakura feel like this was something Mikoto wished she did not have to share. It must have been dire to understand if she was going to reveal it with them regardless of her own feelings. Sakura stayed silent and waited patiently for her to go on.
"You understand that the world started off trying to find peace. Karate was made to find peace. To find a way to make sense of the universe and what it wants. But, you see, people come up with different solutions. Different ideologies. That causes misconceptions, and misconceptions cause fighting and wars."
Mikoto stopped herself again, looking down at the ground as if hesitant to continue. But when she looked up again there was resolve in her eyes. "The Uchiha clan was a clan of highly skilled shinobi. A powerful clan that protected the women and children from other harmful clans at first. They too, had good intention at the time. Years past, decades even, and this was simply the way things worked. Alliances were made, villages were built, and the Uchiha's were at the cusp of it all. The main alliance created the Gokudo. As I said, so many things started with good intentions. A man named Madara Uchiha grew to be the leader over our clan and the allies. He was meant to protect the people…but he had grown for a hunger of power and fear. The Uchiha's had been on top for too long and Madara was beginning to believe that the Uchiha's were superior to comrades and enemies alike. He possessed a superiority complex. Soon, he was killing more people than he was saving. Then…he met Hashirama. Leader of the Senju clan."
A soft knock came at the door, and Mikoto suddenly stopped as if afraid of prying ears in their conversation. It made Sakura wonder. How much was she telling them that she wasn't supposed to? That the world outside this room didn't know about?
Sakura felt anxious and like she was intruding in this woman's history.
Sai opened the door to tell her that a relative called. Mikoto excused it swiftly as Sai soundlessly closed the door again. Sakura leaned forward and decided to intervene.
"Not to sound rude, but you don't have to go into so much detail, especially if it's private." Sakura said, trying to level with the woman in front of her. A family past like that was not something a person would want to relive in front of a couple of strangers. If the press got their hands on this, it could be detrimental to anyone with the last name Uchiha. Hell, any involvement with the Gokudo could completely demolish the Uchiha's reputation. But Mikoto smiled almost painfully at her before replying "Your kind, but it's needed for you to understand."
Sakura was somehow hoping for a happy ending, but she knew where this would end up connecting with the plague in 1905.
"Hashirama wanted to return to the ideals of peace. The friendship between them almost changed Madara. Almost. But when Hashirama became elected leader of the village because of Madara's underhanded controlling of the Gokudo he went mad, and challenged his best friend…"
Sakura couldn't help but slip a sneak peek at Thomas to see his reaction to such a destructive secret. From what she could see, his hands were tightly folded and his mouth slightly agape in disbelief. He looked as though he was holding on to every word at this point.
She was too.
"My grandfather was…unclear…about what happened. But Madara was banished. Before he left, he stroke a deal with the Gokudo to where the Uchiha clan could be free of them. They came were everyone was going for a new start, here, and Madara had seemed to change for the better. He started an iron company that quickly blew up into what it is today. He had the manor designed, always, for the main branch and heir to the Uchiha's to reside in. He was still a prideful man of his lineage."
"So, what happened?" Thomas couldn't help but ask.
"Well, that's also unclear. Some believe that Madara couldn't handle it and just disappeared. Went back to the Gokudo. Or that he got sick, it was a difficult time for hospitals, and he died there." It sounded like she was reading from an article that clearly sounded made up to her.
"What do you believe happened to him?"
Mikoto looked at Sakura, and almost smirked, but she didn't think Mikoto was capable of such an expression with how sweet she was.
"My grandfather told me that Madara found his way back into the darkness. He started a new path to power that he couldn't control. There was a disagreement in the family and Madara grew angry that his own clan turned their back on him after he had risked breaking their ties with the Gokudo."
"Are you saying that other Uchiha might've killed him?"
"I don't know. My grandfather didn't know either. So many Uchiha feared him that it's hard to believe."
"And who is your grandfather? How does he know all this?"
Ah, there it was. The flicker of fear in her eyes. This was what she was the most apprehensive about. Her connection to the whole thing.
She answered, her voice getting softer, "Originally, my grandfather was Itachi Uchiha. One of the victims in the manor."
Sakura felt as though this rang a lot of significance in what they would be doing. Could he be the one stuck roaming the halls? He was the only one left with a living connection, Mikoto.
"In the wake of his death, my grandmother turned to his best friend, Shisui. No one else at the time knew that she was pregnant because they weren't married yet. He became my Ojichan. He and Itachi shared everything. Itachi gave him the perspective of what was really going on with the secrets of the main family."
"Secrets?" She really shouldn't be asking so many questions on such a fragile topic.
"The say a plague fell over the household, but what's strange is that it doesn't match up with any time of an epidemic and never spread to any other households besides the Uchiha. All of the main family died in the same night, but the youngest survived."
This piqued her interest. She hadn't read about any survivors.
Mikoto scooted to the edge of her seat carefully. "It changed him. He lived in the house alone for only a couple more years before Ojichan said he too disappeared. Ojichan liked to check up on him because they were close cousins thanks to Itachi, but he quickly shunned everyone and locked himself away like Madara had. It was believed that he took his own life." Sakura gasped. Such heartbreak in a lonely man, for grief to drive him to such a thing. At such a young age too, he was only 3 years older than her at that time.
"There is a curse that Madara created that was unleashed by someone. I don't know who." Mikoto stated seriously. She lifted the sleeve of her cardigan, perhaps out of nerves. "And I believe it's happening again." Then Sakura saw it.
It looked as though it was a faded purple burn scar traveling up her arm. The skin around it had puckered, and it was shiny from ointment being rubbed on the surface. Mikoto pulled her sleeve down again, but her eyes never wavered from them. "I don't know what's going on, but I need your help."
Sakura felt over her head in this situation. She was only used to talking to dead people. Never before did she have to actually solve a murder. Or prevent more people from dying!
"Are you sure it's not a disease passed down genetically?" Sakura shuffled awkwardly in her seat as she spoke, "I don't think this is a job for us, it sounds like actual investigators and doctors should be involved."
Mikoto shook her head. "It's all been done. Nothing works. The Uchiha elders on the council in the company have also started dying inconspicuously. This is the exact same symptoms that happened when the plague occurred. Any family member that have visited the house are now at risk. Which is a lot. A few years back we tried to hold a party there during the day to try and brighten the mood and it ended badly. I need to know what's happening, what happened. And maybe we can figure this out."
"I..I just get ghosts to talk. I'm a messenger. I can't fix anything." This lady was asking for more than a Hermes, she was asking for a freakin shaman. To somehow connect the dead with the living.
"That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking you to reclaim peace in the Uchiha household. Please."
A few seconds ticked by, but it felt like an hour. Sakura was apprehensive now after hearing the real story, but how could she turn away from this woman in need? Even if this was above anything in her power, she needed to do what she could to help this family.
"…okay…we'll help you."
Mikoto surprised Sakura by running up and hugging her. Everything had been so serious that Sakura didn't expect the quick movements. She awkwardly wrapped her arms around the other woman in an attempt to offer comfort from her seated position. The older woman was practically kneeling in front of her so she could tightly hug her. At the faint contact of Sakura's hands on her back it seemed like Mikoto realized her sudden outburst, and straightened herself and pulled down her dress to smooth out any wrinkles. With a slight blush on her cheeks, she was embarrassed at acting so frankly, she returned to her seat.
Sakura usually had everything lined up with the questions she asked and steps she went through in order to get the information so she could start right away. She wasn't able to do that this time; Mikoto had laid it all out on the table before she got the chance. This case was so different from what she had dealt with in this past, she wasn't sure on how to go about it. She needed to plan this all out accordingly.
"So you're the one who currently owns the house? That way we can freely pass with your permission."
"Oh I gave the deed to my son, he's taken over everything already. He currently is CEO of the company, so now everything belongs to him. But I do have a key to give you." She dug into her pocket and pulled out an old silver key. Thomas went ahead and got up to retrieve it from her.
"Thank you, and we shouldn't have any problems with running into any other people will we?"
"My son told me he likes to keep the place spruced up and clean without changing any of it out of respect to our ancestors. But I don't think he's hired anyone for routine maintenance."
Sakura nodded. "Good to know. We'll update you if we have any questions or find anything."
XX
Even though Sai came to get them and walk them out, Mikoto went with them to be a courteous host. In passing she could see the Uchiha emblem on all the curtains in the house. She wondered what it stood for. "It's an Uchiwa fan." Mikoto replied, her hand unconsciously rising to her necklace. "Why a fan?" Thomas asked.
"Because a fan only makes the fire burn brighter." It sounded more like a recital then an answer.
Thomas and Sakura pulled into a coffee shop a city halfway home to get some refreshments in their bodies and fully absorb their situation. Thomas ordered them 2 lattes and sat down on an art nouveau couch that Sakura had found in a comfy corner of the place. She was pulling out a folder she had designated for the Uchiha and spreading out papers on the table so they could work while drinking. Thomas looked over, some of them were printed out papers of really old pictures. She took the old pictures and lined them all next to each other. She pointed out each one as she read their names out.
"Mikoto Uchiha, Fugaku Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, and the survivor, Sasuke Uchiha."
They were a little faded, and it didn't help that she could only print them off an archives sight on the internet. She could see the similarities in them that all Uchiha had. Dark hair, dark eyes, and aristocratic features. But beyond that they didn't seem out of the ordinary at all.
The mother was the only one smiling in her picture; the father looked as though he had permanent creases from frowning. The 2 sons were a different story. She couldn't read too much into them, but both seemed very indifferent and aloof. The older one, Itachi, had long hair pulled into a ponytail with bangs framing his face. He had scars as well, underneath each of his eyes. The younger one had bangs framing his face, but the back of his hair stuck up in spikes behind him. She couldn't get a good look at any of the actual features of their faces though, and back then pictures weren't a common thing. It would be impossible to find anything clear.
"So, from all the info I gathered and from what she said, Mikoto, Fugaku, and Itachi all died the same night in," she double checks the date of death she found, "October." She singled out Sasuke's picture. "Sasuke didn't disappear until around 3 years later. He was born in 1882 so he would've been around 26 at the time he disappeared. But, there were a couple of missing things in the situation."
Thomas and Sakura hears the barista call their order, and Thomas gets up to grab their treats. Sakura is still trying to grasp the story when he plops her latte down in front of her. She goes to take a swing, but quickly retracts herself from the hot liquid. Sometimes she gets too absorbed in her work that she forgets the world around her. He peers over at all the extra paperwork and history that Sakura has looked up. Sakura always went over the top, she liked to be prepared, and so Thomas usually opted to follow along with it. But sometimes he didn't like knowing all the skeletons in someone's closet.
"No death certificates, no cause of death, newspapers don't even go into detail besides coming up with the title 'Uchiha Plague Kills Family'. Death completely shrouded in mystery. And the survivor locked himself away and never told anyone what happened. We have 4 possible candidates or a combination of any of them that could be stuck with unfinished business."
"This is going to be difficult." Thomas chides. He doesn't know if he wants to spend all his free time off work walking around in dark places. He does like the money though, so he knows that he'll suck it up. At least until it drives him mad.
Sakura simply smirks at him and takes another sip of her latte. "Just the way I like it, right?"
XX
"Sakura, if you don't stop that your gonna eat your fork."
"Huh? What?" Sakura turned her attention away from the laptop screen to acknowledge Ino. She had been so engrossed in trying to find any more information on the Uchiha's that she wasn't even eating her sesame chicken anymore; she was just chewing on the fork. Ino giggled and plopped down on the couch next to her with her own plate of takeout in her hand. Sakura set her fork down on her half eaten plate and went to scrolling through the internet again. Ino, being the nosy friend she was, casually peeked over Sakura's shoulder as she chewed her low mein. She could see business charts for something called 'Uchiha Corporation'. Ino raised one eyebrow and gave her friend a confused look, catching Sakura's attention.
"What?"
"Since when are you interested in business?"
"I'm not," Sakura closed the tab and went back to google. "I'm trying to gather Information on the Uchihas. Get a feel for what they're most like. Looking for any possible underhanded dealings or jealous competitors that could harm them."
"Oh yeah?" Ino replied, mouth full of noodles. Sakura had been spending her free time look up anything Uchiha related for the last week. "You don't believe in this curse?"
"I'm not saying that. But I like to check all of my liable options first. There is a chance that someone poisoned the family then. They were rich from their successful company and that always pisses competitors off. They were also part of an, uh, group before coming here. It's possible this group could be responsible for the weird illnesses then and now."
"Oooookay then. I think I'll just go back to watching TV." Ino knew better to question Sakura's methods. She was serious about helping people in any way that she could.
"Yeah, you do that." Sakura exclaimed without her eyes moving from the screen as if she was afraid she'd miss something if turned away. Ino pouted, she didn't like being ignored. Sakura was still clicking away at her laptop, currently looking for the CEO so she could possibly get a meeting with the guy. But it looked as though the title was still under Mikoto Uchiha, so that was a bust.
"Well, damn." Sakura mumbled. Looks like she had hit a wall on the research for now. She couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Ino heard her distress and was happy to gain some attention again.
"Anything that I can help you with?"
"Not unless you know who the CEO of the Uchiha's company is."
"Oh!" Ino's eyes brightened, "I do!"
Sakura tore her eyes away from the screen and excitedly said, "Really? Who is it?!"
"Well, I don't know his name. But I've seen him on TV and some magazines a while ago. And he's completely gorgeous. Ugh, yum."
Sakura deadpanned, "Well, do you have any of these magazines?"
"Not anymore. I'm all about recycling."
"So, what you're saying is that your no help at all?"
"Oops."
"Ugh!" Sakura shut her laptop and scooted it out of her lap. She sunk into the couch as she felt like she needed to take the chance to relax after spending her Friday obsessing over her new case. Maybe she could just ask Mikoto for some contacts? Yeah, no need to stress out. She always got it figured out anyways. She returned to her half eaten plate and joined Ino in watching TV and some light conversation.
"So when do you actually start with the whole finding ghosts thing?"
"In 2 days, we'll lug all of the equipment out to the sight that Mikoto gave us coordinates to and set everything up the first day. Then that night we'll have to test the equipment out and see if it works. How I see it is we have a couple of days to get everything ready, but the actual case could take a while."
"Well who knows then, you might run into this handsome CEO and he'll be so grateful to you for helping out he'll sweep you off your feet and marry you."
"Ino, don't you ever think of anything besides boys?"
"Hmmm," Ino tapped her chin with her forefinger pretending to really contemplate it. "Nope!" She said with a smile. Sakura laughed at her. Ino was such a typical girl.
"Hey, maybe I'll join ya and marry the guy myself then. You already have Kenji anyways!"
"Oh yeah…" She had completely forgotten to tell Ino she broke up with him.
"Sakura, tell me you didn't!"
"Oh, I most definitely did." Ino smacked her palm to her forehead. What was she gonna do with Sakura when she kept breaking up with the perfect men?
"Geez woman, how am I supposed to get rid of you so I can have crazy sex on the couch with strangers if you don't have your own guy to fool around with?" Sakura stopped eating and looked down to scrutinize the cushions. She couldn't see any visible stains…
"…You really have sex on this thing?"
"You better fucking believe it."
"…but this is my couch."
"I put the blanket down when I remember to."
"…I think I need to wash my clothes now."
"If it makes you feel better, it's pretty awesome. You should try it some time."
Sakura got up as quickly as she could to avoid feeling dirty and hurried off to the kitchen to clean her plate. "Scratch that," she called from the kitchen, "I'll have to burn them."
XX
Preview for the next chapter:
He was very obviously related to Mikoto, with his midnight hair and charcoal eyes. He had a chiseled jaw, a sculpted nose, and a perfect mouth. The type of mouth that wasn't too thin, like most men's, but a little more fuller with a beautiful curve. All his aristocratic characteristics screamed 'Uchiha' to her, but there was something different as well. The hint of Sapphire that shined in his hair or the look in his eyes made him unique from the rest. The Uchiha's were a whole clan of good-looking attractive people. But this man, this man was stunning.
It was then that Sakura did something completely uncharacteristic of herself (gawking was already a seldom thing for her with all she'd seen).
In her attempt to get a little closer to peer past the trees, she tripped on a protruding root and fell. Hard. Making a muffled "Ompf!" noise on her way down, her hands flailing to grab on to the tree next to her to catch herself. She couldn't reach the tree, and she barely had time to catch herself before her forehead almost smacked the ground. She cursed, as she had probably given her position away to a man she had been so openly staring at. And then, she did smack her forehead on the ground out of pure frustration at risking looking so stupid in front of this magnificent man.
"Ahem." She froze when she heard a deep clearing of the throat. Right. Next. To . her. Head.
Her head snapped up to see a pair of muddy shoes at the tip of her nose. How had he gotten over here so fast? She leaned up on her elbows to where she could see him stooping over her with an unreadable expression on his face.
XX
Mikoto asking for help of a murder? Interesting indeed, especially when she's a descendant of the original (somewhat confusing but that's okay) Mikoto as well as Itachi. I wonder who this famous CEO son could be. I wasn't gonna add the whole, 'oh I'm starting to get this illness from the curse!' thing, but I felt as though a stronger motive than it being haunted was needed. Like an urgency as to why she finally needs this dealt with. Please review and tell me what you think!
A couple notes, in case they are needed:
A fauteuil is an open-arm chair with a wooden fame. Francey and fancy.
A canape is similar to a couch, but more so an elegant sofa made out of elaborately carved wood with wooden legs, upholstered seats, back, and armrests that seats three usually. This is also a French piece of furniture.
Arabesque- elaborate ornamental design of intertwined curvilinear geometric motifs.
