I'm glad people liked this. I don't intend on making this a terribly long story. But who knows, I'm writing. If I write you can never tell how long it will be.

Disclaimer: Wishing will never bring me my dream. But I'll wish anyways.

First encounter

My home is nothing special. A small apartment at the top of an old rundown building. The wallpaper was peeling and stained with Kami knows what. The floor creaked when you walked. The fridge was old and the stove was broken. My bathroom was cramped and nothing to brag about. There was a small broken in bed shoved in the corner of the room which was supposed to be my 'bedroom.' It was also the living room.

It wasn't much but it was a place to live. Hardly. The only thing I did like about the place was the small hallway between the bathroom and the living room/bedroom/kitchen. There were stairs at the end and a small door on the ceiling that led to the roof of the building. I would always sit up there and listen to the never ending sounds of the streets below. It was exotic and gave me an adrenaline feeling. Being up so high with the wind in my hair. It was exhilarating.

This morning I had repulsed the thought of leaving my shabby home for once. The rain trickled down outside and washed away my desires for traveling to work. Even if I had the car I wouldn't take it. The streets in Tokyo were bad enough to rival and possibly surpass New York city traffic.

Besides that, I had sold the car not too long after I got here. It was money that I needed and I had to do something. It was my only option. My grandmother had given me enough money for the down payment on the apartment, but I still needed money. So bye bye went the car.

I cursed that I didn't even have an umbrella to use. I put on a sweatshirt over my white button up work shirt and pulled the hood over my pink locks, thankful that it was fall and not summer. I would look awfully strange walking around with a sweatshirt in summer.

With a courageous intake of breath I opened the front door of the building and stepped out into the rain.

The bad thing about where I lived was that it was many blocks away from my job. I worked in a restaurant, a nice fancy place. I had vowed to work somewhere nice in hopes of more money. I didn't get paid much, but it was enough to pay the bills. And a job is a job, money is money. It was nice that the staff there was friendly. That was a bonus.

The restaurant (Lafida) was nearly ten blocks away from my home. It was near the 'good' side of town. You had to have money to live there, something I didn't possess. The walk wasn't so bad, it was better when it wasn't raining.

As usual I was early. I was always one of the first people to come in, due to my early mornings. I could never sleep in, even if I wanted to. It was just impossible for me.

Right behind me, and right on schedule, was my coworker and friend. She wasn't smiling, but she didn't look miserable, something normal. Her hair was wet and messy, wrapped up in its twin buns that sat on top of her head. Her chocolate eyes looked tired and she yawned as she walked through the door. She was tall and slender with curves in the right places. I had always envied her body and cursed my own flat chest. She was a year older than me, clocking in at twenty-one.

"Kami I hate rain." She complained as she grabbed her card to punch in her time.

"Ohayo Tenten." I greeted with a smile. I fully agreed with her rain comment.

She took her apron from the hook and wrapped it around her waist. We both walked out to the front of the restaurant. She flipped the lights on and we both began to silently put all of the chairs down. It was always the first thing we did, just the two of us. All of the other employees conveniently showed up after everything was done.

Once the chairs were down I went to get the sparkling clean silverware as Tenten grabbed napkins. Through out joined efforts we had set up half of the tables in record time when the back door opened. Immediately Tenten and I looked at each other, knowing exactly who just came through the door. Between the slamming of the door, the growls coming from the room, or the stomping of her feet, it was obvious who had just arrived.

"She's here early." Tenten said and placed the last triangle folded deep red napkin on the table. I nodded my head in agreement.

It didn't take long for the girl, who had somehow become my best friend here, to walk to the front room towards us. She had a scowl on her face as she tied her black apron around her waist. Her icy blue eyes were narrowed.

"Problems Ino?" Tenten joked heartily, moving onto the next table.

"Here, you take over here and I'll check food supplies." I said and handed a fist full of forks, knives, and spoons to the girl. I smirked at her angry look and walked on by, knowing not to stay around when she had a temper going. I almost felt bad for leaving Tenten with her, but the feeling wasn't too strong since I knew Tenten could hold her own against Ino.

Taking my time, I began to walk back to the food storage room in the backroom from the kitchen.

I had been working here at Lafida for two years now. It was the first job I found here in Tokyo and I had no desire to leave. Tenten was the first friend I made here. She welcomed me warmly and took me under her wing, showing me how this place ran. Everyone was friendly to me, but I had always stuck to her side. She was a tomboy, a spunky girl who wouldn't let anyone talk crap to her or about her. Yet at the same time, she did have a feminine side as well. She was perfectly balanced and someone I easily got along with.

Ino had come in to work after I started. By that time I had become accustomed to working here. When I first saw her I rolled my eyes and walked the other way. With her long, golden blonde hair and her icy blue eyes I figured she would be some pampered princess who came to work here because 'daddy thought it would be good for her.' I was only half right.

Sure she was a pampered princess, but she was different from the ones I knew in high school. She had an edgy side as well and an attitude to rival anyone's. She was a daddy's girl one-hundred percent, and her father thought that she should gain some work ethnic. That's why she came here. There wasn't much of a need though, her family had money. If she needed any, she went to daddy.

But I allowed myself to get to know her since she approached me. She wasn't as bad as I though and she could be nice and considerate at times. Sure she was selfish, but there were times that she thought of others.

She was also the same age as me. Not only that she had a boyfriend whom she had been dating for a year. On a daily basis Tenten and I had to listen to her sigh about him, saying how much she loved him and how he was such a wonderful boyfriend. At times I just wanted to shove a rag in her mouth to shut her up.

I smiled as I thought of how I first met the two. They had been my life support since I've been in the city. The people that I've been able to talk to. The three of us had turned out to be good friends.

I heard the door open and close again. The food supply was perfect; obviously someone had restocked last night. I walked out of the storage room and found the chef walking in. He was large man with a cheerful attitude. He always had a grin on his face and he fit in with the two girls and myself. We always joked with him and laughed when business was chaotic. He supplied relief to us when serving people was a pain in the ass. Which seemed to be constantly.

"Morning Chouji." I greeted with a smile. There was just no way that I couldn't smile when he was around.

He met my smile with his own. "Morning Sakura. Anyone else here?" he questioned.

I nodded. "Ino and Tenten." Of course he already knew this. Everyday he came in behind me and Tenten. Today Ino was just an exception.

He nodded and glanced at the clock. It was nearly quarter of eight meaning that everyone else would start arriving soon. We opened in fifteen minutes to start out breakfast shift.

"I should go warm up the kitchen." He said and walked away, leaving me to go back to the front. Tenten was opening the shades in the window and Ino was inspecting the tables, making sure everything was set straight.

"Once again we have done the job for everyone else." I said and took a seat in one of the chairs at the center table. Ino sat in the chair beside he, her finger running through her blonde hair that was held up in a tight ponytail.

"You say that everyone morning." Tenten commented, looking back at me over her shoulder. She finished pulling up the last shade and frowned at the gray clouds that hung in the sky, creating a depressing feeling. One bad thing about rainy days is that business is unpredictable. It would either be horribly slow today, or it would be a full house.

"It's true though isn't it?" I said back and straightened a fork on the table. "We do all the work, yet we don't get any extra money, is that fair?"

Tenten shook her head as she took the seat on my other side. I knew that she, like myself, could use the extra money. She lived on her own and was just like me. I had only been to her house once when I needed to borrow a pair of black work pants, and her place was better than mine if only slightly. We were both in a rut. Ino on the other hand was perfectly set off with a large, cozy home that she lived in with her parents.

"Well, I personally hope that it's a slow day today." Ino said, her eyes closed. She placed her chin on her upturned palm and slouched in her chair. Silently I agreed with her. Those were the perfect conditions, less work with the same pay as a busy day. And it wasn't too boring with Ino and Tenten, as well as Chouji here. They made this place lively and entertaining.

The next fifteen minutes flew by and more workers came in. Knowing it was time to unlock the doors, Tenten stood up and took the restaurant key from her apron and walked to the front door.

"Alright, let's get going."

--------

By closing time the rain had lightened up and it was just drizzling at the moment. It was just after ten at night and the place had been cleared out for the past hour. I was cleaning the windows, scrubbing them down with Windex. Ino and two other girls were washing the tables off and Tenten was vacuuming the floors. We could hear the clangs of pots and plates being washed back in the kitchen.

Our boss, a boisterous man with a bad laugh, had left not too long ago, reminding everyone to do their jobs and to lock up before we left. No one said a word to him he left.

After the chairs were stacked and the food supplies were in check, everyone began to clear out. Chouji waved goodbye to the three of us and walked out the back door into the night.

"Ugh, I hate walking home at night." Ino said as she hung her apron up. She straightened the front of her shirt and took her hair out of her ponytail.

"Oh come on. It's not that bad." Tenten said, waving the thought off. "I mean, if anyone tried anything I'd kick their ass."

Ino looked skeptical. "It's not just that. You know, there are things out there at night." She said with a warning glance. "I've heard people talk about it. They've said they have seen shadows, or have heard people talking. They said they would see things move out of the corner of their eyes but the next second nothing would be there."

Tenten rolled her eyes. I knew she didn't believe her, but I was borderline of thinking it was true or brushing it off as rumors to scare you. "Right." Tenten said. "I think you're delusional."

Ino glared and stomped her foot down. "I'm not crazy!" she argued. "Shika-kun said he saw something when he was out one night! And he wouldn't lie to me!"

Ino never thought of the possibility that her boyfriend would lie to her. She was so focused on seeing him as the absolute best. Even if she complained to us about him, she still didn't think too much less of him. "What did he see?" I dared to ask, finding myself caught up in what she was saying.

She glanced my way, glad that there was someone who would listen to her. "Well, he said that he felt this strange coldness. It was when he walked by an alleyway. He said he got this horrible feeling and when he looked, he saw these…these two glowing dots. Like eyes." She spoke with a frightened look. Tenten was ignoring her and getting ready to head out.

"I'm sure." She said and opened the door, a rush of cool air filtering inside. "Want to walk with me Sakura. Incase some ghost or something comes out after you!" her tone was joking and she said those last few words in an eerie voice.

I wasn't scared, but what Ino said gave me an uneasy feeling. Having some company, even if Tenten and I split after six blocks, would be nice. "Yeah, hold on." I said and pulled my sweatshirt on. Ino put her jacket on and followed me out the door. I took my key out and locked the door, pulling on it to be sure that it was secured.

Tenten and I departed ways from Ino who had a shorter distance to walk in a different direction. She waved over her shoulder then walked off, her long blonde hair swinging along her back.

"You don't' really believe Ino, do you Sakura?" Tenten asked, five blocks down the road. She glanced over at me, waiting for me to answer. I hesitated, knowing that if I answered truthfully that she would mock me in some way.

"Well, it's not impossible right?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound frightened. Honestly what Ino said did have me feeling a bit jittery.

Tenten answered. "It's not impossible, but come on. Ino does like to joke with people. And she didn't look frightened at all when she left us." The brunette said.

With her last statement, I couldn't help but agree. "But you know as well as I do that Ino has a knife stashed in her purse. And you know that she feels all high and mighty with that thing." I said smartly. The blonde had her own form of protection, and she was fully convinced that no one would touch her if she had that knife with her.

"True."

At last the time came for us to split ways. Tenten's home was only a block away down another street. "Well take care. I'll see you tomorrow." She said, waving back to me.

"Oyasumi." I said and waved, crossing the street quickly.

I still had four blocks until I got to my apartment building. The thing I hated about living in this section of town was that you didn't know who was out there. People standing on corners or muttering to themselves as they walked by you. I always felt jumpy whenever I was walking home in the dark alone. My stomach would never stop churning until I was safe in my crappy little place with the door locked.

Tonight the streets seemed abandoned. It was strange since I normally saw at least one or two people on the streets at this time. It was unusually cold for a fall night as well. Maybe everyone had somewhere else to be? That must have been it.

Still I couldn't shake the bad feeling from the pit of my stomach. I could feel my palms sweat slightly and I wiped them on my pants. Ino's words of fright ran through my head as I crossed the next street. I could see my home in the distance and was glad that I was getting closer. I just wanted to get home and for some reason my legs itched to run the rest of the way. I hurried my pace, my legs seemingly moving on their own.

And just as I was now jogging past two buildings, there in the alleyway something caught my eye. Two glowing, crimson objects.

My legs took the time to freeze at this point. My mouth hung opened slightly and my eyes began to burn as they were open wider than normal. Whatever they were, those glowing objects, they just made me freeze. The blood in my veins seemed to go cold and stop moving altogether. My heart pounded in my chest, the sound reverberating in my ears. My throat went dry and I couldn't swallow to solve the problem.

Faintly I could see a silhouette. A dark object hidden in the shadows of an even darker place. It had to be a person. That's the only conclusion my non-responsive mind could think of. And the red glow disappeared for a brief moment as whatever the thing was blinked.

And then I could see it move. In my direction. It was coming at me.

That was the only signal I needed. It was all instinct from there and finally my body began to react. I ran. As fast as my legs would carry me, all the way to my apartment building. I wrenched open the door, lucky to find it still unlocked. Then I turned and with a click the door locked.

But I still didn't feel safe. My body shivered un-controllably. Goosebumps lined my skin. I was breathing hard, my throat burning from running. I ignored the burn and began to climb the stairs, wanting to get to my place quickly.

Once I unlocked my door and locked it once more behind me, I didn't bother with anything else. I walked over to my broken down bed, the floorboards squealing beneath my feet. I fell onto the bed and didn't bother to be surprised that it didn't collapse beneath my weight. Instead I just closed my eyes.

And cringed.

All I saw were glowing crimson eyes.

Chapter two is done. I really should work on my other sorties. Blah, I'm such a procrastinate.