Darkest Before Dawn

Inoichi

   She should have thought this through. She should have planned out what she would do during the seven hours of class. Jun-sensei was a very peppy teacher that taught his lessons with vigor and the students seemed to enjoy his class, but the lessons were so painfully simple for Sakura that she spent thirty seconds working through assignments and spent the rest of the time reading through the newest copy of the Bingo Book.

   Today they had a test, and as per usual, Sakura was done in less than a minute. She was doodling on her paper to give the illusion that she was still working. Naruto sat next to her. He was glaring at the test so intently that the paper could have crumpled under his death scare. Next to Naruto was Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi's little brother. He was rather bright and was about, oh, five minutes away from completing his test. Though, he had just a tad too much faith in his skills. So, yeah. Cocky.

   Behind Sakura was a shy soul named Hinata Hyuuga. She was very easy to get along with and that stutter of hers was completely bearable. She was sharp as well, getting through the test with ease. It was obvious that she was part of the top ten in academics. It was also obvious that she had this major crush on Naruto. Everyone knew about it except Naruto.

   Last but not least was Ino Yamanaka. She was loud, stood out, and was having a teensy amount of trouble with her test, but not a lot. She had a crush on Sasuke, as did the other 98% of the class. Sakura wasn't too up about it. He was pretty cute, but she had other things to worry about. 

   When the bell rung at the end of the day, Sakura gathered her books and was about to make her way to her regular training grounds. Ino ran up behind her with Hinata following close behind.

   "Sakura! Oi, Sakura!" Ino called. Sakura turned around and flashed a smile.

   "What's up?"

   "I'm going to have a sleepover at my house tomorrow! It took me for-ever to get Hinata to come and I was hoping that you'll be able to come too! So? How about it? Can you make it tomorrow after school?"

   Sakura cocked her head to the side and gave it some thought.

   "Sure."

   A few more words were exchanged before the three parted ways.

   The next day after class, Ino led both Sakura and Hinata to the Yamanaka flower shop. They greeted Ino's mother, Ayaka, and soon wound up in the lavender room on the second floor. Three futons were laid out in the large space. Sakura set down her school bag and noted every possible escape route she saw. Then, she mentally jotted down everything in the room that could be used as a potential weapon.

   "So!" Ino exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips, "What do you guys want to do first?"

   "Ano... wh-what about... watching m-movies?" Hinata suggested quietly. Ino's eyes brightened considerably.

   "SCARY MOVIES!!" she screeched happily. Ino burst downstairs to get a stack of movies. Horror dawned over Hinata's face as she chased after the blonde.

    "N-No! Ino, w-w-wait!"

   Sakura laughed.

~

   Inoichi arrived home from the Interrogation Building at about nine o'clock. While eating his late dinner on the kitchen island, he looked at three eight year olds as they watched Misaki's Mirror- Reflections of Broken Glass. It was one of the popular and incredibly scary movies out there. Her chuckled when Ino and the Hyuuga girl nearly fell off the couch when a ghastly shriek echoed out from the TV. The pink haired girl only giggled. It was... odd.

   "Hey Ayaka-chan... what's that girl's name?"

   "Hm? Oh, that's Sakura Haruno. She's the newcomer of Ino's class. She's also a very strange girl, but you've already noticed that, haven't you?"

   Inoichi nodded and observed Sakura further. The girl was... unfazed by all the horror effects of the movie. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but you would expect some reaction from an eight year old. And that reaction didn't include giggles when people were brutally murdered.

   When Ayaka went into the bathroom, Inoichi formed a hand seal and aimed at the back of Sakura's head. 

   'Shintenshin no Jutsu!'

   His body slumped noiselessly against the counter and Sakura stilled.

   Inside Sakura's mind, Inoichi opened his eyes to crimson. It was like a thick, red ocean, and he was right in the middle of it. His hand quickly covered his mouth. His lungs... they were burning like... like he was drowning...

    "Realized your mistake, haven't you?" a sinister voice mused. "Aw, what's the matter? Having trouble breathing? Well, let me answer your question at least. You are drowning. Not in water. In blood."

   He looked around, but saw no one. This couldn't be the girl's mind. It just couldn't be. It's too... too...

   "Vicious? Vile? Disgusting? Repulsive? Take your pick. I've heard them all." the voice said. Inoichi was shocked to the core. He was slowly taking everyithing in. The voice was not Sakura's. It was darker and full of cruel humor. The blood... Who's blood was it?

   "Who's blood indeed!" the voice exclaimed. It shrieked with laughter before Sakura herself walked through the sea like she were on land. When she reached Inoichi, she gave him a bright smile.

   "Get out." she chirped.

   He felt himsellf be forcefully ripped from the girl's mindscape.

   Back in the real world, once his consciousness returned, Inoichi shot up onto his feet. Hinata and Ino were still engrossed in the movie, and Sakura was looking at him, grinning from ear to ear.