its definitely still spooktober dw about it
Sakura opened her eyes to a dimly-lit ceiling.
This isn't my room… Feeling groggy, she blinked sluggishly and tried to remember what she was doing here.
"Hello, my dear."
She shot up from her rest.
"Calm down!" The same voice spoke, laughing affably. The pinkette turned her body so she was sitting on the couch properly and, blinking the sleep from her eyes, assessed the situation.
The person standing before her, holding a platter of delicious-smelling meat, had dimples on her cheeks and black strands in her graying hair. "I'm sure you're a little confused, but come eat! We can talk over a warm meal." The aged woman wiggled her eyebrows playfully before turning and exiting the room.
I guess I should follow her. But for a (wise) moment, the girl simply sat and observed her surroundings.
{notice} The wallpaper is the paste-to-the-wall kind. It doesn't match.
{notice} The wallpaper houses air bubbles and is slanted. Hasty pasting?
Hopping off the couch, Sakura rushed out of the room without further inspection of her surroundings, eager to escape the mildew-scented alcove. As the pinkette scurried down the hall after the lady, she noticed that the walls in every room sported mismatched wallpaper, some even horrendously crooked in their pasting.
"Thank you for the meal!"
Sakura hoisted herself up on a creaky wooden chair and tried to make herself comfortable. After wiggling around in her seat, she noticed that the creaking wasn't because of the chair itself but from a soft pounding beneath the wooden floorboards. Thump. Thump. The ancient chair shook with each vibration. Nonetheless, the child chose to overlook the small discomfort in favor of digging into the plate of meat in front of her.
There was a fleeting thought that this could be poisoned or something equally dangerous, but the old woman obviously lived alone and was excited to have company. Besides, she'd just been watching Lee eat for hours because she foresaw the damage sustained to her wallet. "Mm! This is so tasty! What kind of meat is it?"
Surely, this much was harmless?
The old woman chuckled, eating her own portion much less ravenously than the pinkette. "A special kind~" She took a slow sip of tea before continuing. "So, little miss, I'm sure you're wondering how you ended up here?"
Sakura paused in devouring her meal, jaw halfway through chewing a mouthful of meat. "Arh...yrah." She swallowed the food, embarrassed to have let her guard down so much. "Um, how exactly did you find me, miss…?"
"Call me Saki," The old woman had a twinkle in her eyes. "You see, Sakura-chan, I found you lying in the forest unconscious! I was so worried that I brought you home right away."
The girl nodded slowly, her green eyes shifting around the room.
{notice} The wallpaper in this room doesn't match either.
{notice} The walls are bare save for a single hook with a clean wedding veil hanging from it.
Is it hers? It looks too new compared to the rest of the house. And why hang it in the dining room?
...
Wait.
"How do you know my name is Sakura?" The child glanced at the elderly woman, wary for the first time.
Saki blinked rapidly, pushing her square-rimmed glasses up her nose. "Oh, is your name Sakura? Really?" She slowly started chuckling as if she'd heard an amusing joke. "I just called you that because of your pink hair! Your name is truly Sakura?" Saki continued chuckling, putting a hand on her chest and leaning forward from the force of her shaking shoulders. "It's a very pretty name, if not...uninspired."
Smiling as well, the pinkette had no idea what that word meant but didn't allow her confusion to become overt. I guess that makes sense. It's not a stretch to connect 'pink' with 'sakura'. "Well, I-"
Her next inquiry was cut short when the room suddenly fell dark for a moment before the light above them flickered back to life. Spooked, Sakura leaned back in her chair and glared at the light fixture, blaming it for scaring her. The ceiling had peeling white popcorn paint and a single dangling lightbulb in its center. "Did the electricity go out or something?"
"Oh, dear…" Saki placed a hand on her cheek, deeply troubled. "It's never done that before. Maybe the lightbulb needs to be replaced...sorry for the fright, Sakura-chan."
"No, no…" The pinkette pretended to shrug it off while the lightbulb kept flickering with different levels of brightness, struggling to stay lit. For some reason, it reminded her of a fire alarm ringing loudly for everyone to evacuate. "I wasn't that scared. Don't be sorry."
Now I forgot what I was going to ask her.
"Saki-san, about-" Thump. Thump. "...About-" THUMP. THUMP. Beginning to feel truly disturbed, Sakura glanced at the floorboards. "What's going on down there?"
The old woman's smile became tight.
"Saki-san?" Confused, Sakura tried to make eye contact with the woman. "Are you feeling alright?"
The woman continued staring at something behind the pinkette as she got out of her seat. "Well, I feel fine, Sakura-chan. The noise is just...my dog. He's quite big so I locked him downstairs so he can't hurt you." Saki's smile became more natural. "He's four years old and already bigger than you, so I didn't want him to tackle you or something like that. Well, I'll check on him and be right back! You know, make sure he still has water and food and things." She poured the girl a cup of tea before heading into another room. "Please wait for me right there, Sakura-chan! Don't go anywhere. I just don't want you to get lost!"
The pinkette nodded as the woman disappeared around the corner and out of sight. The night was silent as Sakura sat at the dinner table alone, appetite long gone. Everything was ghost-quiet save for the pounding beneath the floor, which had once been so faint it could be overlooked but was now shaking the boards beneath her feet.
THUMP. THUMP.
The lightbulb had stopped flickering. The pinkette could see into the hallway from where she was sitting and spotted a staircase going up.
THUMP. THUMP.
"Well, I'll just look for the bathroom! Saki-san will understand." Talking to herself in an attempt to still her pounding heart, Sakura hopped off her chair and hurried up the stairs. They creaked with each step she took.
This house seems quite old. Halfway up the steps, though, the girl froze in place, green eyes locked on the figure before her.
From her place on the staircase, she could dimly see the ominous outline of a woman with vibrant orange hair standing at the top. The lady's back was facing Sakura, but the pinkette noted her tattered wedding gown and her arms, which rested at her sides, had blood trickling down them. She held a knife in her left hand which was missing the ring finger. The lights were not on upstairs but the light cast in the first-floor hallway provided enough brightness for her to make this observation.
She's definitely a spirit. And… The pinkette kept her eyes on the woman, hips swaying back and forth to a silent song, as she took steps backward, heading down the stairs.
She gives me the same feeling as Nako…
Once the pinkette stepped off the staircase, the apparition turned and walked down the dark upstairs hallway and out of sight, dragging her dirty, torn gown behind her.
An enormous weight was lifted off the girl's chest and she released a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Resisting the urge to run out of the house right then and there, Sakura took several deep breaths and tried to steel her nerves. I remember now. I followed a little boy's spirit here. I need to find him before I can leave. But…
Operation: Settle the debts of all spirits in this house. {start}
Chances of success: 12.1%. 12.3%. 11.9%.
The light in a room down the hallway began flickering.
Putting on a brave façade, she marched down the hall and paused at the doorstep of the room. She noticed for the first time that all the other doors, including the door to the dining room, was closed except for this one.
I'm sure they were open when I walked past a few minutes ago...weren't they?
Even just standing at the entrance of the room was enough to overwhelm her senses with a tangy metallic smell. What is that?
She watched in fascination as the room, which appeared to be a normal bedroom with nothing more than a bed in the corner, turned into an entirely different location when the light flickered and the alcove turned dark. The walls were painted blue with purple stars and there were crayon drawings taped over every inch of available space. As the light continued flickering on and off, the room she was viewing continued switching from one to another.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Almost too quick for her eyes to see, bloody footprints ran across the floor of the bedroom when the light flickered off. Sakura watched the small footprints pause at the bed and disappear.
They seemed to be those of a child.
Did someone hide under the bed? Temporarily forgetting that she too was a child, Sakura carefully stepped around the footprints as she followed them to the bed, kneeling next to it. Though the bed changed with each flicker of the light, there was simply not enough space for a child to fit beneath it. Smooshing her face against the side of the mattress, Sakura stuck her hand under it and waved it around, feeling for something.
A cold hand grabbed her wrist.
"EEK- ah!" As the pinkette ripped her hand free of the cold grip with a scream, she reeled back and knocked her head into a dresser and interrupted her own shout. "Ow…" She whimpered, rubbing her head where the impact was made.
Drip. Drip. She glanced up at the wall. As the light flickered off, she could clearly see words being written in fresh scarlet blood.
HELP ME
She clamped her hands over her mouth, stifling her own horrified scream. Tears shoved their way out of her sockets. The horror of the situation was only heightened by the lonesome sound of the leaves scratching and scraping one another outside the window. Shuddering, she forced herself to stick her hand under the bed again. This time, once she felt something, she grabbed it and yanked it out.
It's warm.
…
"A stuffed dog?" The object was much too cute for her understanding; a deep contrast from the events of the night so far. She removed the piece of paper folded into its collar and read. "'Happy birthday, Sumihiko. I know you've always wanted a puppy but your parents can't take care of one right now, so please care for this in the meantime, okay? Love, mom and dad'."
As soon as she finished reading, the puppy's head fell off its shoulders and left a bleeding stump. Shrieking, Sakura threw the parts to the ground, which rolled back under the bed and left a bloody trail on the floorboards.
...The light stopped flickering.
The room was empty save for the plain bed she was kneeling next to.
Outside the window, the leaves scratched and whispered, the only audience to her actions.
"Sakura-san!" Lee reached out to grab his companion but she darted out of his reach and continued to run towards the edge of the village. He had been training with her for a while but had never seen her run that fast.
What do I do? Panicked, the boy began pacing back and forth but forced himself to take steady breaths. I can't get her back alone. His eyes flickered around his surroundings. The lights to the nearby buildings were all off. The wind filtered through the trees, causing the leaves to cackle at his fear.
"...Police," He murmured, stopping in his tracks. After another moment of deliberation, he began sprinting for the nearest police station.
Those men have to help her! An image of the military police force flashed through his mind, the red and white fan crest etched into all of their backs. They might be the only ones who can.
Sakura-san, wait for me!
A/N: Here's a mystery to uncover. Feel the adventure with Sakura and see if you can piece the scattered clues together! Leave a review with your hypothesis :D