I KNOW, I know. I said I was writing the ShiSaku and I got you guys to vote and everything! I am writing it, I'm just having some issues working out the plot points and how they all merge together. I spent like four hours writing and rewriting Chapter 1 before I was even kind of happy with it and even then, I'm still trying to work out what each chapter entails (which is what I like to do before I post something).

I have finished one chapter - chapter 11 but its just straight up porn and contributes nothing plot wise.

I got really frustrated because usually once I have one chapter done, it's all smooth sailing and I can bang out several chapters in one sitting. Not this time. It's in my head, I just gotta get it out. But it will happen, I just need to wait for a little bit before I think of the AHA bit and then it'll all come to me.

So, because I got so grumpy, I listened to some garbage meme songs on YT and then for some reason this... came out. I dunno how this relates to Payload Circulation (just... OverWatch memes), but here we are.

It's an indulgent hot mess of awful fanfiction tropes.

Enjoy.

Ghost Stories

Day 1: Fan the Flames

"It'll be fun!"

"Last time you said that, we nearly got arrested!" Sakura hissed, snatching her pen back from Ino as one of the other students in the quiet level of the library gave them a dirty look. The last time Ino had convinced Sakura it would be fun, they'd ended up jumping fences to get away from the police.

Ino rolled her eyes and leaned over the table, arms folded on the surface. "Nearly being the operative word there, Sakura. We didn't get arrested and you can't tell me you didn't have fun." She said, voice hushed.

Sakura had had fun at the frat party before it got out of control and the police were called, but she didn't really feel like jeopardising her scholarship because Ino and Naruto wanted to go ghost hunting again. "That's not the point, Ino. I can't afford to be wasting time running around after ghost stories!" She whispered.

"You can spare one night, surely?" Ino wheedled, tilting her head from side to side in some sort of attempt to look cute. On any other person, it might have worked but Sakura had seen Ino hurling up her guts into a bush and after that, nothing would work on Sakura. "You're always studying, one night's not going to kill you!"

"Shh!" Someone hissed, and Sakura ducked her head in embarrassment.

Ino flipped them off lazily. "Please?"

"No, Ino. I have a shift tomorrow and I really want to get this extra reading done." Sakura said firmly. "Ask Shikamaru." She said, looking back at her book and hoping Ino would get the hint. The library was quiet today, most people studying at home and Sakura preferred it that way. There were less distractions.

At least until Ino had found her.

Ino flopped onto the table dramatically, hand landing right on top of Sakura's notebook and making the pink haired girl mess up her latest diagram. Sakura huffed, shoving Ino's sprawled limbs away and erased the line grumpily. As much as she loved Ino, the other girl was ridiculously dramatic sometimes.

"Sakura!" Ino whined. "You never do anything fun anymore!"

"First warning ladies." The librarian called from where she was shelving books. "Keep it down or go somewhere else."

Sakura smacked Ino in the arm with a scowl. "Stop it!"

Ino pouted at her, blond hair scattered over the table. "But you won't come! And you're gonna leave me alone with Naruto and Sayaka and I am not being a third wheel while Naruto tries to flirt." She wheedled. "Sakura!"

"Ladies!"

Sakura felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment and she glared at Ino. "Will you shut up? People are trying to study!" She hissed. "Ino, I can't go. I need to study, and I have work tomorrow."

Ino propped her head up on her fist, still pouting. But she didn't say anything, and Sakura sighed in relief and went back to studying her textbook on human anatomy. It wasn't anything she didn't already know but she knew that she had to have it down pat before the final came around if she wanted to get top marks again.

She was labelling a diagram of the heart when she saw Ino's hand creeping across the table to her pencil case. Sakura narrowed her eyes and jabbed Ino in the hand when the blonde tried to steal a pen.

"Ow!" Ino hissed, rubbing her injured hand with a scowl.

"Just leave it alone." Sakura said back grumpily. She liked Ino, really she did, but the blonde didn't enjoy studying quite as much as Sakura did and it was a challenge to get anything academic done with Ino around. "Please?"

Ino grinned. "I'll leave you alone if you come tonight." She bargained. "I'll let you study all afternoon in peace and I won't even make you come to tennis with me." The blonde girl flicked her hair out of her face, eyes mischievous.

"Why do you want me to come so much?" Sakura asked. Normally when Sakura said no to one of Ino or Naruto's crazy schemes, she pouted for a little bit and then backed off. But this time, Ino was strangely insistent.

Ino shrugged. "I just think you would enjoy it, is all." She said.

"If I come, will you let me study for finals in peace for the rest of semester?" Sakura asked, hardly able to believe she was agreeing to this. Ino meant well, but in her attempts to get Sakura out of the house she often interrupted time Sakura needed for studying or catching up on work for her internship at the hospital.

Ino nodded quickly, smile widening. "Pinky promise." She said, holding out her hand, pinky extended.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the childishness but hooked her own pinky with Ino's in agreement. As she did, she saw a strange white mark on Ino's wrist, almost like a chalky white character. She frowned and then scoffed. "When did you get Henna?" She asked, pulling her hand away to grab Ino's wrist and peer more closely at the intricate design.

Ino peered at the little temporary tattoo. "Oh, I got it yesterday with Sayaka. Isn't it cool? I was going to get the normal colour but Sayaka convinced me the white would look cooler. It does, doesn't it?" She gushed, turning her wrist this way and that to show off the slight sheen to the white ink.

Sakura brushed a finger over it and blinked at how cold Ino's skin was. She pulled her finger away. "It's pretty cool." She said. "Maybe next time we can both get them." She said, tone a little apologetic for snapping at Ino earlier.

Ino beamed at her. "It's a date!"

Sakura shook her head. "Can I study now?"

Rolling her eyes in mock exasperation, Ino pushed herself up from the table, slinging her stylish beige bag over her shoulder as she did so. "Eleven thirty forehead." She said sternly, but the words were ruined by her smile.

Sakura waved her best friend away. "Alright, alright, go away." She giggled.

Ino flounced away with one last air kiss and a flip of her shiny blonde hair. Sakura shook her head at Ino's dramatics and went back to labelling her diagram of a heart.

Eleven thirty exactly found Sakura standing outside her apartment complex, clutching her phone and a banana. She hadn't bothered to change after getting home from the gym, assuming her black workout leggings and fluorescent orange jumper to be appropriate for breaking into a long abandoned compound.

She waited on the steps, munching on her banana and idly scrolling through Instagram as she waited for Ino to show up. She waited for a good five minutes before she heard the familiar growl of Naruto's obnoxiously orange car and stood up just as it careened into the driveway. Naruto had obviously been in charge of the music choices and ridiculous bass was pounding through the chassis.

Ino was immediately hanging out the window, waving to Sakura. "Hurry!" She shouted. "We're gonna be late!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, hurrying over to the car. "Late for what, ghosts?" She teased as she yanked open the backdoor. She slid into the leather seat, slamming the door behind her. She saw that the one of the girls in Naruto's class, Sayaka was in the back with her and wondered what tall tale Naruto had spun to get such a pretty girl to come on such a ridiculous trip.

"Yes!" Naruto cried, bouncing in his seat excitedly. "Sato said we had to get there before two am or else they'll already be gone!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Naruto."

"That's right." Naruto said, completely oblivious to her sarcasm.

Instead of egging Naruto on, Sakura smiled brightly at Sayaka and the other girl smiled back. She and Sayaka had only met a few times, but she was nice, if a bit quiet and very pretty, with long dark hair and striking brown eyes.

"Come from the gym?" Sayaka asked as Naruto put the car into reverse. She was fiddling with her phone and in the dark car, Sakura could see the pretty white henna on the inside of her wrist too. "You're so dedicated… I always sign up and then never go."

"Once you get into a routine it gets a bit easier." Sakura said with a shrug. "Not that you need the gym."

"Oh shut up." Sayaka said good naturedly, rolling her eyes. "Neither do you."

In the front, Ino and Naruto were babbling excitedly about all the stories about the hauntings in the Uchiha compound. Their conversation quickly turned to the rumours about the demons locked away under the massive mansion in the very back of the compound, rumours Sakura thought utterly ridiculous.

Demons did not exist.

"So," Sakura said, looking over at Sayaka. "What did Naruto tell you to get you to come along to this?" She asked curiously. Sayaka was very pretty and frankly, the quiet, studious girl didn't strike Sakura as the type to be interested in ghost stories.

Sayaka shrugged, phone lighting up as she got a message. It went dark quickly as she locked it again. "I think it sounds kind of fun, to be honest. I mean, we grew up hearing all the stories about the great Uchiha Clan, right? And then one day, they're just gone. It's pretty mysterious." She snorted as Ino shrieked excitedly about ectoplasm from the front seat. "I don't believe in all… that, but it'd still be cool to see how they lived, y'know?"

Sakura giggled. "I suppose you're not wrong."

"And I mean, I am a bit curious about the mansion. They said the Uchiha had red eyes… Like, that's not something people just make up, right?" Sayaka continued, lips curling into a smile. She looked out the window, up at the mountain looming above them. The compound was still a ways off, set nearly half an hour by highway out of the city and another fifteen minutes up the mountain.

"I dunno, people are pretty weird." Sakura said, gesturing to where Naruto and Ino were still gushing about ghost readings and ectoplasm. "Case in point."

"I heard that, forehead!" Ino snapped, whipping around to give Sakura her best death glare. "I am not weird, I'm unique and fabulous and don't you forget it. The only weird one here is Naruto."

"Oi, oi, oi! I'm not weird!" Naruto protested loudly as he turned off the highway and onto the winding mountain road that would take them up the side of the mountain to the old abandoned Uchiha compound. It was nestled in the high valley between two of the forested mountains that sat behind Konoha. "My mum says I'm special." He boasted proudly.

"Oh well done." Ino said sarcastically.

"How about I stop and boot you out of this car, Ino, how about that, huh?" Naruto shot back.

Sakura sighed fondly when her best friends started bickering about which one of them was cooler. Ino was insistent that Naruto's terrible fashion style disqualified him, while Naruto was sure that it made him cooler.

Next to her, Sayaka was watching the exchange with raised eyebrows.

"Don't worry about it." Sakura reassured her. "They'll get over it in a few minutes and it'll be like it never happened." As if on cue, they rounded one of the hairpin corners cut into the mountain side and they caught their first glimpse of the sprawling complex that had once belonged to the mighty Uchiha clan. Naruto and Ino stopped arguing to coo excitedly, Ino leaning forward over the dashboard.

The crumbling outer walls glowed in the moonlight for a moment before it disappeared behind the trees again. Sakura leaned back in her chair as Naruto engaged Sayaka in a fairly one sided conversation, the blond boy babbling excitedly about all the ghost sightings there had been.

Sakura played with her phone, playing the stupid dress up game she was obsessed with. Ino teased her about it, but it was surprisingly addictive, crafting and collecting new clothes and outfits. And Sakura would never admit it, but she sometimes used it to make up outfits she wanted to try out in real life.

She was tapping her way through one of the crafting missions when Naruto announced that they had arrived.

Sakura looked up just Naruto pulled up to the front gate of the complex. The gate had long since been removed by the council, for fear that trespassers, like them, would knock it down and hurt themselves. Instead, the council had strung several chains across the entrance, not that it would deter anyone, with little red warning signs to keep out.

Sakura wondered if Naruto's father, the mayor, knew about his son's illegal activities. She wagered not.

"Wow, its so much bigger in person." Sayaka said, leaning forward between the front seats as Naruto turned off the engine. The night seemed so much darker now that the purr of his car's engine was gone.

Ino squealed and she and Naruto looked at each other briefly before they both scrambled to get out of the car. Ino's purse got caught on the seatbelt and she tossed it aside with a huff. Sakura followed her friends more slowly, zipping up her jacket as she got out of the car. The outside air was warm enough, but she kept it on nonetheless.

Sakura shook out her sleeves, still holding her phone.

Ino bounced back to Sakura excitedly, looping her arm around Sakura's. "Isn't it cool, Sakura?" She gushed, dragging Sakura after Naruto, who had forged ahead without waiting for them. They all ducked under the chains blocking off the entrance and walked across the courtyard.

The entrance had a few shopfronts, now dilapidated and abandoned. There were even a few old flags still strung up across the shop windows and doorframes. A lonely stool lay on its side in front of an old ramen bar, and Sakura wondered how colourful it had been when there were people living her. The stones under their feet were a mixture of cobbled grey and packed dirt. The main path led a straight path through the compound, towards the mansion sitting right at the back and smaller, winding paths split off every now and again.

As they walked past, Sakura peeked down some of the winding side roads. She saw overgrown gardens, collapsed roofs and snapped shutters. It seemed that these were the living quarters of the people who used to live in the miniature city.

Naruto had run ahead, having no interest in the old shops and houses, more interested in the mansion right at the back. The only thing they paused to look at in their journey up the quiet, abandoned streets was an old anvil but even that wasn't enough to keep Ino or Naruto interested for very long.

Sakura didn't mind the walk so much, even if Ino was gasping and cooing at every puff of wind. It was surprisingly temperate up in the mountains, the air less humid than down in Konoha. She looked at the shops and houses as they passed, imagining them full of life and it seemed so wrong to Sakura to see it abandoned and broken down.

She could tell the complex had been well built, it had lasted over a thousand years after all, but the thought of what had happened here made it less pretty and sadder. Most of the massacre had faded with time, but occasionally, Sakura saw deep swipes in the thin walls of the buildings, or a dark red spot on a pale wall.

"Hurry up! You two are too slow!" Naruto yelled from where he was waving from the great courtyard that sat in front of the entrance to the mansion. The mansion itself was ornate, with what were once lush gardens and ponds sitting in front of the wooden balcony that ran around the perimeter. Sakura was reminded of the botanical gardens, and the Senju temple there. Against the backdrop of the mountain range behind it, Sakura imagined the Uchiha Mansion would have been stunning in its heyday.

Naruto and Sayaka were waiting for them on the balcony, which was dangerously creaky and rotted under their feet. Sakura stepped slightly, worried she might fall straight through.

"Come on, come on!" Naruto said, bouncing up and down excitedly. He whipped out a little radio transmitter that he always brought on these ridiculous ghost hunting tours, fiddling with the knobs and dials expertly.

Ino unwound her arm from Sakura's, looking up at the dark entrance. She shivered and turned to Sakura with a grin. "Spooky."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Hardly. It's just a house."

"A haunted house!" Ino protested loudly. "We'll show you! Sato let us listen to this recording, it was the coolest thing you've ever heard, Sakura. It was like this low, angry growling, like a dog or something."

"A demon dog!" Naruto blurted out, holding up his transmitter triumphantly. It was buzzing with white noise and Sakura blinked, less than impressed. Naruto didn't seem to mind, strutting inside without so much as a glance backwards. "Lets find us some ghosts!"

For a few minutes, nothing happened, they just wandered through the first level of the house. Sakura saw some slashed furniture and more suspicious red spots on the rotted upholstery and cushions. She really hoped that whoever had left those spots had died quickly.

Naruto and Ino were still babbling excitedly and then the radio gave a high pitched whistle as they turned towards the stairs. Both of the blondes screamed in excitement and Sakura rolled her eyes. Sayaka had fallen back, arms folded, and she caught Sakura's eye, shaking her head.

"Upstairs!" Ino gasped.

"It must be the demon dog-"

As if on cue, there was a thunderous growl from deeper in the mansion. Sakura jumped, not expecting it at all and Ino and Naruto both startled, clinging to each other as they all stilled. There was another growl and then a loud groan and Sakura realised what they were hearing was the house settling at the new weight.

She snorted and Ino whipped around, eyes wide.

Sakura pointed at the ground. "When was the last time someone walked in here?" She asked. "The house is just settling."

"Nuh uh!" Naruto said, shaking his little doodad. "It was the demon dog!"

"Demon dog…" Sayaka repeated incredulously.

"Yeah!" Naruto said impatiently. "We gotta go find it!"

"Why would we do that? If it's a demon dog, then shouldn't we leave it alone?" Sayaka said, leaning one hip and raising a sceptical eyebrow. "Why can't we just explore down here? I mean, there are so many old artefacts down here… Swords, tapestries-"

"Who cares about all that stuff?" Naruto said dismissively. "Come on guys! Demon dog!" He cajoled.

Sayaka nudged Sakura, jerking her head with a smile. "Well you guys can go and find your demon dog. Sakura and I are gonna look around down here."

Sakura was unable to help a smile. It felt nice, having someone other than Ino and Naruto include here in this. Besides, looking at all the old artefacts and relics seemed much more interesting than following Naruto and Ino around looking for some non-existent demon dog. "Yeah, you guys go ahead. If we hear screams we won't come looking for you." She joked.

Naruto pouted, doodad lowering. "Fine!" He said, turning away childishly.

Ino beamed at Sakura, and waved goodbye as Naruto dragged her up the stairs.

"Lets go find something actually cool." Sayaka said, taking Sakura's hand. She laced their fingers together and pulled Sakura towards one of the side halls. They walked for a little bit and then Sayaka pushed open one of the sliding doors. It squeaked and groaned but the two of them managed to get it open finally.

The room they walked into seemed to be sitting room of some sort, with a low, sunken floor and a low table in the middle. The wood of the table had aged well, still shiny under all the dust. Scattered about the room were cushions, though many of them were slashed open.

"Boring." Sayaka decided, dragging Sakura back out of the room.

The next rooms they checked held more of the same. A writing room, a tea room, a sun room. All of them in varying states of disrepair, many of them wish deep cuts and slashes of the walls from ancient samurai swords.

Sayaka led them through the dark house easily and then down a short flight of steps. On one side of the branching hallway, Sakura could see what looked like the kitchen and another door leading to the outside. The other way led to a heavy wooden door.

"Lets look in here." Sayaka said decisively. She tugged Sakura along and again, it took the two of them to pushed the heavy door open. Halfway open it stuck and they were forced to shimmy through on their sides.

It was much cooler than any demon dog.

"Wow!" Sakura said, looking around in amazement. It had been an old armoury and there were still ancient weapons mounted on the walls, many covered with dust. Right at the back, there was a rack of shining short swords, each of the hilts wrapped with leather. Over the top of the rack, a mess of leather straps hung.

Sayaka gasped and hurried deeper into the room, brushing a finger over some of the scrolls that were stacked against the wall.

Sakura followed slower, looking at all of the weapons. They looked brand new, as if they hadn't dulled at all, even if they were all covered in dust. On the back wall, there was a giant gourd shaped weapon with a chain looped through a metal ring on the top. The chain ended in a wicked looking curved blade. The strange looking weapon had a comma shaped design on the top of it and Sakura wondered how one used it in battle.

Another set of swords caught her attention and she padded over to them curiously. There were several racked neatly, but it was the one on the top that caught her eye. Sakura trailed a finger along the sheathed sword. It was strangely clean, as if someone had recently dusted it and the sheath, a strange blue black metal with a deep groove in the centre hadn't rusted at all. It looked as if the owner had just put it down.

She picked it up and was surprised at just how much light it was. She was able to hold it in one hand despite it coming up to her hip in length.

"Why aren't these things in a museum?" Sakura wondered out loud. "I bet a lot of people would love to see this stuff."

"Hey, Sakura, come look at this." Sayaka called.

Sakura looked around and saw that Sayaka wasn't in the weapons room anymore. She put down the sword carefully and padded through the room, following the sounds of Sayaka clattering around. The other girl had been right when she'd suggested that looking at the old artefacts in the Uchiha mansion being much more interesting that following Naruto around with his dinky radio.

Sakura found the dark haired girl in the room next door. Sakura blinked in surprise, head on a swivel when she saw that hundreds of white characters inked on the walls, floor and some, oddly enough, were etched into the ceiling. It looked like gibberish to her and the writing appeared to shift and change in the darkness.

Shaking her head at the strangeness, she looked for Sayaka and saw the other girl standing by a shelf, an old box in her hands.

"Weird." Sakura said, pointing at the strange symbols.

Sayaka looked up and rolled her eyes. "Could you imagine how nuts Ino and Naruto would go if they saw this crap?" She said.

"Looks like graffiti." Sakura said, stepping over the threshold and into the room. Sayaka smiled at her brightly, holding out the box for Sakura to look into.

"Shit graffiti." Sayaka said. "It doesn't even say anything."

"Yeah." Sakura said with a laugh. "Also, no one's even going to see it?"

"People are weird." Sayaka said, parroting Sakura's earlier words back to her. Sakura shared another smile with the girl, happiness curling in her chest at the thought that she might have made a new friend.

It was difficult for Sakura to make friends outside of Ino and Naruto. Both of them were so outgoing and loud and sometimes Sakura thought she got lost in their bubbliness. Not to mention she was shy at the worst of times and doing a fantastically difficult degree and barely had time to get to any social clubs.

Sayaka seemed nice though and Sakura thought perhaps the night hadn't been a waste after all.

Sakura took the old jewellery box with careful hands. At one time, it would have been an ornate. But now the velvet was tattered, and moth eaten, and the mirror cracked and blackened with time. It was heavy, and Sakura weighed it in her hand, surprised because it was so small. She ran a finger over the delicate etching along the little clawed legs as Sayaka moved away to search the rest of the room.

Sakura put the jewellery box down on the shelf and poked the soft little raven sitting next to it. It flopped over, little fat limbs falling pathetically. She wondered who it had belonged to. It was worn with age and obvious care, one paw worn far more than the other.

She picked it up carefully, holding it gingerly. It was stitched by hand and Sakura wondered if the owner of it had been a child. She squeezed it gently when she remembered what had happened to the inhabitants of the castle and put it back gently.

It flopped sideways again, and she pushed it back to sitting, rearranging its limbs so it looked more comfortable. She smiled at the adorable picture it made and started to clear the dust around it on the shelf. It didn't seem right to leave its shelf messy.

A loud flap and the sound of cloth dragging across the ground made her look around. Sayaka had dragged a cover off something and she was staring at the black well in the ground. Around it was a raised wall, maybe two or three inches high. The wall had a gap, where the ground simply fell away and there was old, mouldy rope hanging down into the darkness.

"Woah." Sakura breathed. "I didn't know there was a water table here." She said, walking over to Sayaka's side and peering down in the well. The air blowing up from the well was frigid and Sakura shivered a little, taking a step down. The well was pitch black and she didn't want to imagine how far it went.

"Yeah, I thought they got their water from the mountain stream." Sayaka said, leaning almost recklessly far over the well, eyes big in her face. "I wonder if there's still water in it?"

Sakura shrugged. "I mean, it can't have gone dry right?"

Sayaka looked up at Sakura with a devilish grin. "Do you think they ever threw someone down it?" She asked, eyes looking less awed and more crazed.

Sakura blinked at the awful question. "What… No? Why would they-"

"Well I mean, all the stories about the Uchiha said they had otherworldly powers, right? So maybe they sacrificed a few people to get them." Sayaka said, eyes returning to the well. "Wouldn't that be cool?"

The note of excitement in Sayaka's voice made Sakura look twice at the pretty girl. She didn't find the thought of sacrificing people cool at all and she took a tiny step away. Sayaka was busy looking at the well so Sakura pulled out her phone to text Ino or Naruto.

She frowned when the screen of her phone flickered. She shook it a little, unlocking it anyway. It seemed to be working but there was no service, which confused her since less than five minutes ago she had had four bars.

"Hey, look!" Sayaka said excitedly, leaning further over the well and pointing at something. "There's something written here… I can't quite see…" She tilted her head, leaning on the raised wall and stretching out to try and read whatever it was she had seen.

"Sayaka, be careful!" Sakura almost shouted, reaching out to the other girl.

"Can you shine your phone here?" Sayaka asked, ignoring Sakura's warning completely.

Sakura bit her lip but turned on the torch anyway, turning it to shine on the wall of the well. Just as Sayaka had said, there was something written on the wall, in more white chalk. Sakura narrowed her eyes. It was more of that gibberish that was covering the walls and floor.

Now that it had a light shining on it, Sakura could see that the writing was strange. It seemed to flicker in front of Sakura's eyes and she shook her head a few times. Many of the characters were frustrating familiar to Japanese. It felt like she should be able to read it, but every time she thought they looked familiar, the writing twisted again.

"Do you see that?" Sayaka asked, voice hushed. "What does it say? Can you read it?"

Sakura shook her head. There was a cold feeling in her stomach and she felt the hair on her arms rise in response to the frigid air rising out of the well. "I don't know. It's probably just more graffiti." She said. "Sayaka, I think we should find the others." She said, unsure why she was so nervous. She had never been one to find haunted houses or paranormal stories frightening but there was something very unsettling about that well.

"Oh okay." Sayaka said, leaning back and pushing herself back to standing. She dusted her hands off on her jeans. "Can you take a photo of it though? I want to show Naruto when we get back and I left my phone in the car." She asked, smiling at Sakura prettily.

Sakura smiled back wanly and stepped up next to the dark haired girl. She flicked open the camera app, zooming in on the strange white writing on the well wall. Sayaka stepped back so she wasn't blocking the shot and Sakura felt her brush against her side.

Sakura shrieked as Sayaka shoved her hard in the back. She careened forward, arms flailing as she fell towards the dark well in front of her. In her desperation to catch herself on the raised wall bordering the well, Sakura dropped her phone. It hit the ground with a loud crack, torch light flickering.

She gasped, eyes wide as she stared down into the dark pit she had nearly fallen into. Her heart beat loudly in her ears, fingers tingling.

And then Sayaka kicked her in the back. Sakura yelped and fell to her knees, gripping the raised wall so tightly she thought her knuckles might break. Sayaka kicked her again and Sakura set her jaw and shoved backwards.

She was just starting to push herself up when Sayaka tackled her from behind. Sakura grunted, chest colliding with the raised edge of the well. It was enough to make the breath whoosh from her lungs and she gasped, winded.

Sayaka fisted a hand in Sakura's hair, yanking her head down and forward towards the well, so hard that Sakura's eyes well with tears and her neck cracked. Sakura shrieked, clawing at the other girl blindly, terrified and confused.

"Get off me!" Sakura shrieked, hoping the others would hear the commotion and come.

"Shut up!" Sayaka hissed.

Sakura struggled, hands clapping around the other girl's wrist. They grappled back and forth for a few seconds, the other girl trying to shove her head first into the well and Sakura doing her best to keep from falling.

"Ino!" She screamed, desperate, lashing out and managing to catch the soft skin of Sayaka's inner arm. She scratched the other girl as hard as she could and heard Sayaka yelp with pain. "Naruto!"

Sakura took the opportunity to push backwards with all her strength. They tumbled backwards, away from the well and Sakura rolled away immediately. She scrambled upright but Sayaka was already on her feet and she slapped Sakura hard. The loud sound rung through the empty basement. Sakura gasped, stunned and then Sayaka shoved her in the chest. Sakura stumbled, and she felt nothing beneath her foot as she stepped back.

The last thing she saw before she fell was Sayaka's triumphant grin and the sickly white glow of the writing on the wall.

Naruto looked up at the faint scream. It had sounded like his name. Next to him, Ino had similarly frozen, eyes wide.

"What was that?" Ino asked, spinning in a circle. "You heard that right? The scream?"

Naruto nodded. The scream hadn't sounded like any of the screams he had heard in any of the other haunted houses he and Ino had visited to see if they could find ghosts. The screams he had heard in those houses had always howled out of his frequency radio.

His radio was silent and wasn't even registering any activity. This scream had come from below them, where Sayaka and Sakura were exploring the basement.

"We should go check on them." Naruto said, tucking the radio back into his pocket. He knew Sakura hadn't wanted to come and he also knew that the Uchiha compound was old and many of the floorboards had rotted through. He couldn't bear the thought of kind, sweet Sakura getting hurt because of him.

Ino nodded and they both retraced their steps through the mansion. It took them a few minutes to pick their way around the caved in floorboards and smashed walls but eventually they made it outside.

When they got outside, Sayaka was waiting in the courtyard, rubbing her arm and in tears.

"Sayaka?" Naruto cried, running forward to his crush.

She rubbed her face furiously, eyes red and chest heaving. "Sakura, we were looking at the well downstairs and then out of nowhere she went insane! She hit me and pushed me over, screaming about how something was in the room with us and then she ran out!" She blubbered, squeezing her arm tightly.

Naruto took her by the arms gently. "What? What happened?"

"I don't know!" Sayaka wailed. "I was just showing her this jewellery box and she just lost it on me!"

"Where did she go?" Ino asked, voice worried and afraid. "Did you see, Sayaka? We have to find her… She can't walk home at this hour! She could get attacked or fall down the mountain!" As she spoke, her voice got higher and higher, becoming more and more panicked.

Naruto let go of Sayaka, stomach roiling with worry. The story didn't sound like calm, rational Sakura at all. Losing it over a jewellery box? "We've got to look for her. Sayaka, did you see which way she went?"

Sayaka pointed with a shaking hand towards the entrance. "I saw her run through the gates but after that, I don't know." She sobbed, hands over her face and shoulders heaving. "I don't know, I'm sorry!"

"It's okay." Naruto said, as soothingly as he could, but he felt anything but calm right now. Ino was right, Sakura could fall down the steep incline of the mountain, or if she got stuck in one of the old houses, fall through rotted floorboards. "We'll find her, Sayaka. Why don't you wait for us in the car?"

Ino barely waited for Naruto tuck Sayaka into the car before she was dragging him off towards the entrance of mansion courtyard. She was biting her lip, blue eyes big and worried as they ran through the dark, cobbled streets of the compound, calling out for Sakura.

"Sakura!" Ino yelled, nearly tripping over an abandoned cart. "Sakura! Come back!"

Naruto shoved open a door to one of the old houses. "Sakura?" The house was dark and empty, and nothing moved in the single roomed, single storied house. "Sakura! Please come out, we're going home now!"

"Sakura!" Ino screamed, voice cracking. "Sakura!"

But there was no answer.

And Naruto had a terrible feeling there wouldn't be.

Sayaka's role changed rather drastically from the first draft. In the original version, Sakura falling was more of a stroke of bad luck (sinkhole) and Sayaka falls with her. Sayaka and Sakura both end up in a big cave and while Sakura is knocked out, Sayaka panics and runs off. Sakura going on her journey (and subsequently meeting all the demons) was just because she was looking for Sayaka. I changed it because there was no villain. I think it works better now.

Look there's not much intrigue or mystery in the story. its basically just an excuse for me to write UchihaSaku rubbish.

Game Sakura is playing - Love Nikki Dress Up Queen, I am obsessed with this stupid fucking game, holy shit.

Rack of short swords - Shisui (Tanto)

Raven toy (Sakura misidentifies it, it's actually a crow) - Itachi

Sword - Sasuke

Gunbai - Madara

Obviously, from the tags, you know there are more Uchiha but I couldn't think of any little references to them.

I hope you all enjoyed and if you can, let me know what you think!