Chapter 1 – The Search

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...unfortunately.

*IMPORTANT*

I have decided after so many years to rewrite this story as I still had much interest in it. Going back to it and re-reading it, I realised that it had a lot of potential and it wasn't bad. After getting some inspiration and getting a spark for my muse I wanted to make it even better so I have changed quite a few things to improve the story by adding new characters, changing the setting and the background slightly etc. I advise you to re-read the story from the beginning if you are familiar with it. If not please enjoy and make sure to let me know what you think.

'Thoughts'

"Dialogue"

I have been inspired by a mixture of Constantine the movie and Ao no Exorcist, therefore you will find some references to them :)

I've also listened to the Queen of the Damned soundtracks while writing this story and recommend you to listening to them while reading to create the mood ;-).

This chapter's song is 'KORN - System'.

…...…...

Summary:

When a seemingly harmless game becomes serious it turns life threatening, adversely opening a portal between realms releases something sinister into the world.

Suddenly thrust into chaos Hinata tries to navigate through it to stay alive and keep her friends safe, not knowing if they'll get out unscathed if at all.

Some things in this world should not be trifled with.

…...…...

"Its 8.30am and today is the 20th October. The weather forecast for the following week is delivered to you by Tenou, Shizuka. It seems that the general outlook of the weather coming is broadly strong showers and winds with the speeds of upto 60mph, it looks like a beginning of a thunderstorm therefore we ask that you…"

Hinata listened to the news absent-minded as she ate her breakfast while sitting on the sofa in the common room. It was a modern but modest open plan living room and kitchen.

Lost in thought and staring out of the window at the autumn's dark beauty, a red décor that brought back an unwelcome memory, trying to pull her into a slow approaching abyss in the furthest parts of her mind.

'…it still haunts me…'

'…that night…'

"Earth to Hinata, come on don't want to be late to the respiratory seminar." - rang Ino's voice as she entered the room, consequently snapping Hinata out of her dark daze.

Yanamaka, Ino was a platinum haired beauty with brilliant sky blue eyes, whom she has known since childhood. Ino was a bit of a tomboy when she was young and some of those traits have remained to this day, such as her love for sports and her competitiveness much of which came from the influence of her single dad, Inoichi. Ino was a very friendly and righteous type of person since she was a child. She was like glue and made friends with everyone and anyone who was willing or unwilling…

Hinata was painfully shy and had a stutter as a child, which made her an easy target for the bullies, so Ino became 'reluctant' Hinata's knight in shining armor.

Despite their differences their friendship was strong and they were very protective of each other.

"Better bring my umbrella, it looks mean out."

Hinata stands to dispose of the bowl and spoon into the dishwasher and grabs her bag from the counter to follow.

…

The university bell rang loudly at the Konoha University and the two students rushed to get to their lecture. Second year of med school was no walk in the park especially with the strict lecturers.

Running into the lecture theatre, almost tripping over each other, the girls settled themselves into the spare seats available.

If you are late you are doomed for the firing line…the front row.

"Nice of you to join us ladies" - said the boisterous professor by the name of Senju, Tsunade while raising her thin eyebrow at the tardy girls. Ino smiled sheepishly in return while Hinata apologized quietly.

Despite being in her 50s Tsunade looked much younger than her age with long golden blond hair and infamous bust. She was a well-known professor at the prestigious Konoha University, who has published many articles and had received recognition and awards for her work in medical research.

The strength of her vocal cords were legendary, she could be heard from one end of the university to the other when shouting at the students in her office. Tsunade was also the head of medicine at the university, hence having to deal with troublemakers.

She liked to use reverse phycology on her students and was a profound believer in tough love.

The lecture commenced shortly after and everyone fell into silence to listen to the charismatic professor speak about the new module they will be studying this term.

…

After a grueling three-hour lecture it was lunchtime and the girls headed for the canteen.

The group of friends greeted the new comers as they approached.

"What do you think about the upcoming Halloween party at the Forum?"- Kiba threw across the table, directing the question at the girls.

The girls met Kiba half way through their first year. Despite being on different courses they managed to sit across from each other by chance at the university library, which was a separate building on the university grounds with different subject cohorts in different parts of the building therefore students from diverse courses rarely tended to mix.

Hinata was having trouble with her laptop while trying to connect to the Internet server and Kiba seeing the girl struggle offered to help.

Despite Kiba's rowdy personality and 'ruggedly handsome looks' as he liked to describe himself he was a smart man, which baffled Ino to no end who thought he was 'an utter cocky prat' when they first met. They got on like a house on fire, which was fairly entertaining to watch. Their passion for sports and support of rivalling Rugby teams never seized to ignite their countless debates on who is better.

Sitting next to Kiba was his course mate and fellow rugby player Namikaze, Naruto, a tall blond with olive skin. Both boys studied motorsport engineering and were so alike it was uncanny. Naruto's cheeky smirk made many girls weak at the knees and Hinata agreed with Ino when they first met him, 'that no one should be that good looking'. Despite his physical appeal he was a notorious prankster and loved practical jokes much to the chagrin of their mutual friends. That's where the appeal stopped for the girls, his childish antics were a little too much at times.

Hinata always thought amusedly that Ino, Kiba and Naruto were almost like long lost siblings, and their animated heated sport debates never seized to make her laugh. They spoke enthusiastically, were always full of energy and bad ideas or as they argued 'innovative ideas'.

Hinata worried that if no one stepped in with a new idea there would be a repeat of last year.

"Forum is so tacky though! We should just do what we did last year and go to a good club in the city!" - spoke slouching Naruto.

Everyone went simultaneously quiet for a moment remising about last year.

'Ah the last year...'

"No one really got hurt…" - drawled Kiba unconvincingly.

Hinata winced when recalling the past events, which she realised she would rather forget.

"Ok maybe a few people got hurt but they were bad people from the Suna University who were looking for trouble and picking fights with no real justification!" - rambled on Kiba heatedly.

The group simultaneously sighed.

Hinata was usually 'the voice of reason' which went unheard most of the time 'unfortunately', just like last year.

"No way! You are not getting us into the same trouble again!" - Ino called out with an accusatory tone and punched his arm good-humouredly but with meaning making Kiba smile guiltily.

"Besides they have renovated and expanded the Forum and its opening night is on Halloween, so why not check it out? I heard they got different themed rooms."

Forum was the name of the club located on the university grounds. Built by the university for the students, however its closing time was always at 1am to the frustration of many partygoers.

"We could always have an after party of our own or could crash a house party if all else fails?" - Ino piped in and received a collective nod from everyone in the group.

"Would be nice to do something in the theme of Halloween."

Hinata looked thoughtful before she was snapped back into reality by an impatient Ino pocking her in the ribs making her jump.

"Oi Hinata! Any ideas?"

"Hhmm…does sound reasonable to go to the Forum and then do something fun...what about…what about a game perhaps?" – Hinata answers uncertainly meanwhile everyone turned to Hinata. Nervously she stares back at her audience and tries to elaborate on what kind of game would be suitable.

"A s-scary game of some sorts?"

"Everyone who thinks Hinata should volunteer for the job of finding the perfect game raise your hand!" – hollered Lee who sat on the other side of Kiba.

Rock, Lee and Naruto have known each other since they were children and have been good friends ever since. He studied Sports Science and was part of the national martial arts team representing the Fire Country in the Olympic Games. He had chin length hair, which he swept back and a kind smile. Loyal to a fault and always full of energy, which Hinata was immensely jealous of good naturedly, as she wished that she had even 10% of his stamina shed be able to accomplish more studying the nerd that she was.

The lunch hour came to an end and soon after everyone bid each other farewell, scattering to their respective classes.

…

Hinata sighed heavily at her predicament.

"Volunteered"…'More like forced into'

She pondered how she'd be able to find a good sort of entertainment for them while on her bus journey into the city.

Most were busy with their respective clubs, which meant that Hinata had to venture out on her own and so she goes on a hunt into town on a Saturday to find something suitable.

'Perhaps going on a Saturday wasn't such a good idea'

Konoha was an immense city and a restless city at that.
'A city, which never sleeps'
It was busy everywhere she went. Hinata never liked big crowds and it seemed busier than usual.

After what felt like an eternity of searching through the big shopping mall first, then the town centre's shops, on the brink of giving up she looked up at the grey sky in frustration, which she realised shortly after was much darker than it was in the morning.

'It seems like a storm might be brewing'.

At that moment a gust of strong wind suddenly came out of nowhere almost carrying her and heavy rain shortly followed.
This was never a great scenario with big crowds. As the ice-cold unforgiving rain poured down, it caused 'the mob' of people to panic and run for cover. Hinata was consequently shoved and thrust in multiple directions. Thrown off her course she couldn't handle the sudden claustrophobia. She couldn't turn, she couldn't see where she was going, her chest started feeling very tight and breathing became difficult. Pushing through to anywhere she could get away seemed almost impossible, like a stampede the people moved forward until she saw a small opening and she almost jumped towards it and into the narrow alleyway, thinking her escape route as she stumbled forward.

Taking a moment to breathe she slouched back onto the stone cold wall, leaning her head back she closed her eyes.

'Kami…never again...'

Feeling the cool rain droplets slowly falling onto her delicate porcelain skin was almost calming.
Hinata blinked back the raindrops from her eyelashes, which framed her soft opal eyes.

Parting her plum coloured lips she sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm her frantically beating heart.

She then looked down the street between the two hauntingly tall buildings that shielded the path from most of the natural light, however there were street lights dotted along which lit the path if somewhat dimly. Looking back at the stampede and the heavy pouring rain she thins her lips and then faces forward making her mind up.

'I'll just walk through to the other parallel street, it shouldn't take long.'

Even though Konoha is a modern city it still had much of its old town within it, hidden just like this street, which made the city that much more alluring.

As Hinata walked she observed the timeworn shops, which seemed to have been closed for decades. She was also partly struck by awe from the beautiful traditional architecture.

'Almost like travelling back in time' she thought.

Hinata contemplated on how familiar it looked to the 200 year old market in Hong Kong, which she visited in her childhood.

Feeling a little wary she increased her pace.

Her midnight locks, which framed her face were sticking to her skin uncomfortably.

She sneezed.

'I can't wait to…' Hinata trailed off as she came to a halt when she noticed a small looking Victorian shop. It had its lights on and seemed to be still open.

'It looks so out of place'.

Unable to read the head sign, which was worn from age she looked through the antique mahogany windows.

The bell attached to the door above her head gently chimed as she guardedly entered the shop unsure if she really should go in.

Scanning the room quickly but not seeing anyone, Hinata nervously wondered a little further into the odd looking shop.

The warmth that greeted her as she entered made her realise that she had lost the sensation in her hands from the cold.

Not seeing the shopkeeper at the counter Hinata walked further into the shop and began to hesitantly look around while she tried to warm up and get the feeling back in her digits.

The shop was much, much larger inside in comparison to what she initially saw when she looked through the dusty window. The shop had high ceilings, at least 4 meters high, it almost looked like a library of sorts with so many shelves and ladders to be able to reach the top shelves. There were a couple of swirling staircases leading to the second floor with one being at the front and the other at the back of the shop.

Walking past one of the shelves she tried to read the sorting marks of each section but could not recognise the language. It didn't look like anything she has ever seen before so Hinata decided to randomly go down one of the sections to explore.

A heavy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, a feeling of being watched. She turned her head around to see if there was anyone there but saw no one.

Trying to keep her composure she forcefully dismissed the strange feeling of dread that this peculiar shop gave her and carried on browsing, unconsciously slightly more hurriedly. Clenching and unclenching her hands she placed one over her racing heart trying to calm herself.

'There's no need to be so frightened' she tried to reassure herself.

Hinata attempted to dismiss her hyperactive mind and pondered about her current problem of having spent the whole day searching but still ending up empty handed.

As she scanned the old shelves packed with various unknown to her objects, 'books and toys? Dolls?'

Her eyes strayed to the next row of shelves behind the one she stood. Looking through the gaps of the ledge Hinata noticed a crimson coloured box on a shelf next to what seemed like a row of books with runes carved onto their spines. It was the only item that didn't appear to be covered in dust. Rounding the corner and moving closer to it she felt a mixture of unexplained anxiety and anticipation.

As if gravitated towards it she finally came to a halt directly in front of the alluring object and brought both of her hands up to hover above the lid. Only hesitating for a moment, she slid her fingertips along the smooth surface of the box, feeling the texture of smooth ceramic.

However, before she is able to open it she is suddenly startled by an old raspy voice close behind her.

Jumping and screaming she backs away only to halt when she heard the old man chuckling to himself.

"Now, now, am I that frightening?" - asked the old man humorously.

She was so transfixed by her overwhelming curiosity of the strange box she didn't hear the old man approaching from behind.

Clutching her hand and resting it over her rapidly beating heart she tried to calm herself.

'It's only an old... harmless man…'

"I'm so s-sorry for my outburst, you startled me!" - Hinata breathed attempting to smile a little at the elderly man.

"Forgive me my child, I hadn't meant to scare my customer. My name is Sarutobi, I am the owner of this shop. I saw you browsing after coming back from the stock room in the back. Is there anything in particular that you are looking for that I could help you with?" – asked the modest looking grandfather figure with white hair and a long beard, dressed in traditional white and grey Japanese robes.

Pausing for a moment, she remembered why she entered the shop in the first place.

"I…I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking for…sir" - she speaks slowly.

The old man then notices the crimson box behind her and recognition flashes in his eyes. Picking up the crimson case he questioned quietly, more mumbling to himself - "What is this doing here? It's not supposed to be here..."

Inquisitive Hinata hesitantly asked what the box's content was.

The old man lifted his eyes to meet hers, carefully summing her up, then smiled gently. However, his reassuring smile may have looked genuine to any person but it didn't quite seem to reach his knowing eyes.

"Why don't you have a look?" - he reached out to present the box to her.

Unable to refuse Hinata cautiously removed the lid of the crimson box and saw an antique Ouija board.

'It's beautiful…' was her initial though. Hinata never has been a very superstitious person due to her background and upbringing so she is not quite sure what to think of the content.

"It is said to be a portal of communication with the dead. It should not be used unwisely…" – trailed off the old man with a strange like tone…almost sounding ominous…

"How much?" – She suddenly spoke on a whim before thinking better of it.

"2,500 yen will be sufficient." – The shopkeeper answered as he turned to walk back to the counter with the box in hand. Her eyebrows shot up from surprise because she expected it to be worth so much more but perhaps she was mistaken and it must have been factory made.

While handing her the carrier bag with the board inside he smiled enigmatically at the young girl and warned her to be careful.

"Read the guidelines I have provided carefully. Remember to not take your finger off the glass planchette no matter what happens before you finish the session."

Blinking and slightly confused from what the old man said Hinata could only nod while she paid for the item.

Thanking the shopkeeper and bidding him farewell Hinata walked out of the shop. After continuing along the narrowed path it finally joined onto the parallel main street and to Hinata's relief she was able to find her way back with ease.

On her journey back she started to have doubts and was tempted to take it back.

'Maybe it wasn't such a good idea…what was I thinking?'

The carrier bag felt heavier and heavier by every passing minute. It almost felt like something dark and cold was being emitted by it.

Swallowing the rising panic she dismissed her paranoid thoughts and run back to her dorm as she got off the bus.

Breathing a heavy sigh Hinata walked into one of the four flats on the top floor of a four-story accommodation building that she shared with Ino and 4 other students. She walked briskly to Ino's room and knocked before entering.

Every room was a decent size, with a single bed, a desk with shelves above it, a built in wardrobe and a small en-suite bathroom. It was a luxury to have your own bathroom as a student, which made the rent a little higher, however it was well worth it in Hinata's eyes despite the location being the furthest end of the university grounds. Their flat also had beautiful views of the bordering forest, which she found very calming when she studied.

"Yo! Hinata! What took you so long?" exclaimed curious Ino from her spot on the bed drying her hair after the hockey practice. She tried to convince Hinata to join at the beginning but Hinata politely declined, as she didn't like contact sports very much, her strengths lay in the water athletics.

"What did you get?" – Ino asked curiously as she spotted the carrier bag in Hinata's hands.

"Erm..I got an Oui..." – Hinata suddenly nervous was unable to finish her sentence as she literally had the bag snatched from her hands.

It was silent for a moment as Ino peered inside the bag and excitedly opened the box.

"An Ouija board! Not bad Hinata. Not bad at all! Looks pretty spooky to me" – Ino burst out as she grinned good-naturedly.

"Good find Hinata! This might freak a few people out on Halloween if we play it right! Haha! Can't wait to see Naruto's face when we pull this prank! It's pay back time!" – proclaimed enthusiastic Ino, her laugh full of mirth. She hasn't forgiven that infuriating blond for his last prank.

"Look at the markings on it, it's beautiful…it looks old and hand crafted."

"I don't know Ino…maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all…maybe?" – Hinata trailed off uncertainly as Ino turned to stare at her.

Ino started snickering mockingly behind her hand and then proceeded to make chicken noises for emphasise. Hence Hinata's argument 'against' ended right there and then with a merciless pillow fight following shortly after.

…

She dreamt that night of the past once forgotten.

…

(Flashback)

From a tender age of 5, after her mother's death giving birth to her still born sister, Hinata has been able to feel the presence of others, of beings not living in this world and things beyond her comprehension. She wasn't sure if it was a curse or an endowment bestowed upon her for an unknown reason, which grew as time passed. A gift called by some, which she has not asked for. A curse declared by others, she thought she didn't deserve.

Her father has taken her to different psychotherapists claiming she was delusional after she claimed to have seen and spoken to her mother, his disease wife, as well as having heard the cries of an infant.

They thought it was some kind of coping technique due to her loneliness and the traumatic experience of losing a mother at such an early stage of life, which had a serious adverse effect on her. Following numerous amounts of medication it seemed to have winded down or so it seemed. As time went past and she thought she has forgotten but in reality the memory was only locked away deep and far in her subconscious.

One of her earliest memories was of Hizashi, her uncle who died protecting her from a man hired to kidnap her, as she was informed. It was such a hazy memory that she wasn't completely sure if it was a dream or not. It was past midnight on a cold October night, as she lay half awake unable to fall asleep. A shadow moved and she seized moving like a deer caught in the head light. It moved again but closer, however she soon realised that it was only the branches of the trees in the garden, pulled relentlessly by the harsh winds outside, howling like a pack of wolves. The rain hit the windows, soaking everything outside, thunder and lightning boomed so loudly it was as if she was in the middle of the storm.

'A thunderstorm'.

She breathed a sigh of momentary relief, when she felt a weight shift on her bed, she sat up and came face to face with a man covered head to toe in black, blending in with the shadows. That moment, which seemed to last an eternity simultaneously followed by the furious lightning strike, almost deafening in its power and the light from it eliminated the intruder. The only thing she could see of this trespasser was his eyes. She has never seen anything so petrifying in her life. The scleras of the eyes were pitch black and the eyes seemed to be excreting black tears. The sight had disturbed her to physical paralysis.

The creature blinked and the iris of its eyes bled into a demonic yellow. It spoke in a deep voice, which did not sound human. She couldn't tear her eyes away or process the words it spoke to her. Her fear that locked her in place seemed to amuse the black clad man, his eyes smiling sadistically.

Hizashi bursts into the room breathless as if he has been running and saw the trespasser facing Hinata in a locked stare. The intruder got up slowly moving away from Hinata and tearing its gaze away from her small form to meet the man's at the door. She turned her head in panic and screamed for her uncle to run for then everything to go black.

The blinding light of the sun coming through the large windows woke her and she found herself in a hospital bed alone.

They said that the kidnapper was hired by a rival company who were going to sabotage the Hyuuga business corporation with blackmail. It didn't go as planned, as the head of Hyuuga Company's brother, Hizashi, tried to stop the man but as a result was stabbed in the abdomen and died shortly after from severe internal bleeding at the scene of the crime. The sword pierced a major blood vessel and caused irreversible haemorrhage.

The kidnaper was also found dead. It was speculated that he was either pushed out of the window or he jumped and landed on the sharp gates of the back garden. It was also discovered that he was a former employee of the opposing company. The company released a statement saying that the criminal has been fired from their establishment a significant amount of time prior to the incident and goes on to deny the charges, so the investigation continued.

After some time the case was discontinued due to lack of evidence and no leads. Consequently, the charges against the opposing company were dropped and the case was closed.

Hyuuga, Hiashi, Hinata's father, locked himself up further after the death of his beloved twin brother. He couldn't look at her as he partly blamed her for what had happened even though he knew it was wrong to do so and there was nothing she could have done. She was also an immense reminder of his late wife because of how much she resembled her.

He couldn't take it.

Hinata was sent to a boarding school from the age of 8.

(End of Flashback)

She woke with a start covered in sweat. Wiping her brow she recalled the dream, which seemed so vivid to her in that moment. It was so weird as parts of the dream were some of her distant memories and the other parts…incomprehensible if not more disturbing.

Shaking her head to try to rid herself of the nightmare she got up to have a shower and wash away all of the bad thoughts. Standing under the shower as the water poured onto her soothingly she closed her eyes and couldn't help to think about the nightmare.

Those were difficult times for Hinata and she became very withdrawn as a child when she was sent to the boarding school. However it did come with a silver lining. She had a guardian assigned to her, a beautiful kind lady by the name of Kurenai, Yuuhi who became a mother figure to Hinata, which she desperately needed. At the same time she met Ino and despite Ino not living on site, as not all of the children did, they still became very close friends and Hinata was finally able to be a little happy again and have hope for a brighter future.

…

It was about 2 days before the Halloween party and Hinata felt more anxious by the hour. She tried to reassure herself that there was no reason to be nervous and being a woman of science she shouldn't believe in the supernatural.

'Nothing is going to happen'.

The majority of people in their group thought it to be a great idea. Kiba and Naruto were both especially enthusiastic about it after Ino explained to them what an Ouija board was, to everyone's amusement.

Lee noticed Hinata's discomfort since the topic had arisen a week prior and had tried to reassure her subtly in his own way.

"The users subconsciously direct the path of the triangle or the planchette as they call it, to produce a word that is in that person's subconscious thought process. Some people may be convinced that the 'powers' of the Ouija board are real because they are unaware that they are in fact moving the piece themselves, and therefore they assume that the piece must be moving due to some other 'spiritual force'." explained Lee glancing briefly in Hinata's direction catching her eye to which she smiled a little in gratitude.

"Did you also know that the number and the variety of reports, which couldn't be explained scientifically, in regards to peoples supernatural experiences whilst using an Ouija board, has been too great in comparison to your theory? Consequently, your theory hasn't been officially proven due to that factor." – Naruto teased as he read the information from his phone having just googled it, however still sceptical himself.

Lee frowned in disagreement. The two often liked to engage in a debate challenging each other's knowledge. Naruto's words seem to ring in Hinata's ears, which distressed her even more. Seeing Hinata's uneasiness Lee offered some words of comfort - "Don't worry about it Hinata, nothing is going to happen". For the first time since she has known him, the reason in his words were unable to calm her worried heart.

….

On the day of the Halloween party Hinata couldn't help her nervousness. The flips that her stomach seemed to be doing were making her slightly nauseous. Trying to brush the feeling aside she observed herself in the mirror. She was dressed in a white baby doll Victorian like dress cut just above her knees. Her natural porcelain complexion and long tresses that cascaded down her shoulders in waves reaching her lower back made her look like a china doll.

She dreamt of the same nightmare every night since. The dark circles around her eyes were proof so she tried to cover it up with some make up. She kept replaying it in her minds eye as she tried to blend the neutral colours of her eye shadow, pink and lilac.

Ino suddenly burst into her room making Hinata jump and scream.

"Jesus Ino!"

"Why sooooo serious?" Ino imitated the Joker and then laughed mirthfully while trying to dodge the eyeliner Hinata threw at her in retaliation.

"Can you please do my eyeliner arrows, my hands are shaking."

Picking up the eyeliner from the floor Ino approached Hinata with steady steps, still smiling.

"What's wrong hime?" Ino gently questioned as she began her work. Hinata not wanting to talk about it only mumbled a nothing in reply. Ino nodded in understanding, knowing when not to push.

Ino also drew cracks on her skin for effect, so to appear as a broken porcelain doll. One on her cheek and a few others scattered around on her hands and legs.

Hinata was pleased with her appearance despite not looking scary at all. It was the softness of her face and the gentleness in her eyes that could never make her appear menacing despite whichever outfit she wore.

'…A Victorian doll…' she thought to herself with anabsent mind.

"Now come on baby doll put on your dolly shoes cause its time to go."

Ino wasn't a particularly girly person she just had a good fashion sense. Nor was she the type of girl to take hours to get ready or thoughtlessly gossip. She knew what she wanted, was a bit of a feminist and loved sports. Her father was a strong role model in her life, it was also where she got her love for sports from of course and despite being a single father he raised her well on his own with his late wife in his thoughts and heart.

Ino's mother passed away in a car accident while she was still very young. A hit and run driver distracted by his phone had crashed into her when she was driving to pick up Ino from the nursery, she later died in hospital from severe head injuries. Ino doesn't remember her mother very well but through her father's stories she felt like she knew her at least a little. Apparently she was a strong willed feminist and a successful lawyer. Yamanaka, Inoichi, Ino's father, told her often how much she reminded him of her late mother and how much of her fiery will lived on inside Ino.

It was one of the things that Ino and Hinata had in common, which drew them even closer, loosing their mothers in childhood. Inoichi was a kind man with a big heart and he liked Hinata from the moment Ino introduced her to him as her best friend. He liked to call them his daughters. Hinata loved spending time with them both and was grateful that they allowed her to become part of their little family.

Hinata was never a jealous sort of person, however she was only human and couldn't help feeling a little jealous of Ino's relationship with her father. Her deep routed sadness towards her own father whom only called her on her birthday and saw her briefly at Christmas, still affected her to this day. It wasn't something someone could ever really get over, it was like a wound that scarred over time but was prone to reopen due to the weak scar tissue. But Hinata never held that against Ino or Inoichi, their kindness always warmed her heart.

Ino wore a dark purple Gothic Lolita dress. Her make up mirrored that of Hinata but the only difference consisted of dark shades of purple eye shadow and her long platinum locks hang straight on either side of her shoulders. She looked very cute thought Hinata.

Picking up her light plum coloured lipstick she gently applied it to Ino's lips and then her own.

Ino grabbed her hand gently and gave it a reassuring squeeze while tugging her away. With a heavy sigh Hinata followed Ino as they exited her room to make their way to the Forum where the Halloween party was held.

…

The place was huge and decorated impressively with all kinds of things from banners, props to lights. The budget must have been fairly vast to go all out like this observed Hinata, however it was an investment as the students brought in a lot of business and no one drinks or parties as hard as the students do. It's also almost like the right of passage, you go to university and drink yourself silly or so they claimed thought Hinata sceptically.

There were four themed areas in total with multiple bars and DJs playing different types of music: a Graveyard themed room with Rock/Alternative music, Frankenstein's castle - Techno, Egypt - House and Plague - RnB. People were dancing to the music and enjoying themselves with various alcoholic beverages in hand.

The group of friends tried to navigate through the crowd to get to the bar. While waiting to be served Hinata observed her group of friends with light amusement.

Naruto and Kiba dressed as werewolves. Unable to resist Hinata had to snicker. It looked as if hormonally raging fan girls had assaulted them. It was a sight to see. Naruto had sported red contact lenses, which gave him a slightly demonic look.

Ino snorted and laughed at them openly and then got into a heated debate with Kiba about the latest Rugby game between their rivalling teams: The Konoha Eagles and Konoha Fangs. This time the Eagles had won a match against the Fangs but Kiba was eager to remind her that they had only won by a margin and overall his team played better than hers. Ino of course had a few things to say about that and so they went on back and forth teasing each other relentlessly.

When their turn came to order drinks Kiba let Ino go first. The bartender was a cute freshman with a charming smile and tried to hit on Ino, which wasn't a surprise as she was looking very pretty that evening. However, one of the things that Kiba and Ino wouldn't do in front of each other is flirt with other people despite how meaningless it was. It was almost like an unspoken agreement between them and both ignorant of the real reasons behind it.

Ino wasn't the type of girl that would flirt with a man to make another jealous. She held respect for herself as well as for him and wouldn't lower herself to such an act intentionally. She was also a bit conservative when it came to showing interest in the opposite sex, she believed that men should always make the first move. A girl should never degrade herself by running after a man and her pride, as a woman should be upheld first and foremost. So she politely smiled and ordered drinks for herself and her friends, first round was on her.

Kiba smiled a secret smile despite himself and lowered his head just above her ear to tease her. Ino looked up at his handsome face with a confident smile, which made Kiba's cheeks heat up momentarily. The closeness wasn't surprising after all as the music was very loud and the only way to be able to hear each other was if you shouted in each other's ears. However, Ino secretly enjoyed these occasions when they would all go out as a group and she could be like this with him.

Hinata didn't understand those two and how afraid they were to make the first move despite their obvious attraction. Kiba may have pretended to have the bad boy attitude but he had a heart of gold. Were they doubtful of each other's sincerity? Maybe they were afraid that the dynamic in the group might change or if it didn't work out would cause a drift in the group? But if you feel in your heart that it's the right person then the risk would be worth it, thought Hinata. No matter how she tried to approach the subject with either of those two they dodged it skilfully.

"You alright Hinata? Seemed a bit far away for a moment there!" – shouted Lee through the loud music smiling down gently at the petite girl.

"I'm ok thank you! I was just thinking about something!" – Hinata shouts back at him standing beside Ino as Lee passed them their drinks. She thanked him and made small talk about the venue. He was dressed as a zombie with fake bite gashes on his face and neck.

The light-hearted atmosphere helped Hinata relax a little and enjoy herself, almost forgetting her troubled dreams.

…

Everyone was having a good time but it was cut short as the Forum was closing at 1am and everyone was slowly forced to return to their dorms or seek other places to continue to party.

As the girls headed to the toilets the boys said that they would meet them at the dance studio as they were going to fetch the alcohol, snacks and all the necessary preparations for tonight's game, which were all left in their dorm for convenience purposes.

The girls proceeded to their destination located not too far from the Forum. It was in the gym building on the top floor, which was a 24-hour facility so it was fairly easy for them to sneak upstairs to the dance studios, as the dorms would be total chaos this time of night and cramped with drunken students getting up to all sorts. They needed a quiet and large enough space to accommodate them all and the studios were a good idea at the time, courtesy of Ino.

Hinata was feeling worried to say the least as they walked down the well-lit corridors of the dancing studio towards the room they have chosen to try the Ouija board.

'It's going to be ok…' her thoughts have been abruptly cut short as the lights in the corridor started to flicker and suddenly went out completely.

The girls cried in alarm from the sudden darkness, as there were no windows, which caused them to panic. Frightened they run towards the only light provided by the eerie moonlight shinning through an open door at the end of the corridor, the room where they were all suppose to meet. The corridor seemed to stretch and it felt like it was further away. They rushed and ushered themselves in to the room quickly locking the door behind them. They looked for the light switches but came to a sudden halt as the windows burst open violently and the strong chilling wind tore into the room hitting them like shock.

They herd scratching sounds and were paralysed in place. Then two shinning yellow orbs appeared.

'No'

The eyes stood out but the intruder was obscured by the darkness.

'No'

Feeling bile threatening to rise, it was like dé jàvu. The only thing they could see was how demonic they appeared.

"No!" screamed Hinata, 'it cannot be'. She couldn't move. Without another second going past the girls rushed towards the exit but the door wouldn't open. With a dreading realisation they understood that there was no escape. Ino picked up a nearby chair and screamed that if it got any closer she would hit it, knowing full well that it would not help anything but just prolong what was coming to them.

'No...no No!' Hinata felt blind panic start to rise in her chest and it became difficult to breathe.

The shadow moved towards them and they screamed, banging on the door, shouting for help and it all seemed to be futile until they heard sudden burst of laughter. The lights were switched on shortly afterwards and Lee sheepishly walked in through the same door to join them, the one that wouldn't open earlier but now they knew the reason why.

The girls were speechless and the only thing that could be heard were the roaring laughter of the boys. Kiba and Naruto thought it was the funniest thing they have seen in a long time.

It seemed like an eternity before Hinata found that her heart was still beating, thinking it stopped when the figure began its approached in the darkness, as if the nightmare was coming to life.

Lee chuckled from behind them while shaking his head lightly and placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder inquiring if she was alright, which she returned with a tentative nod and a sigh of incredulous relief.

'It was nothing...just a joke...it was nothing...' she reassured herself.

Ino was feeling murderous and attacked the laughing men.

Suddenly the boys didn't think it was very funny anymore.

…

Cracking her knuckles Ino glared at the guilty boys.

"You try that again and I won't be responsible for my actions".

"OK! As we got that out of the way let's begin the game!" - continued Lee excitedly.

Everyone took their chairs and settled around the lone round table in the middle of the studio, which they got out from the storage room in the back.

Jokes and a bit of banter was thrown around as they passed round the alcohol and snacks.

"Here, why don't you read out the rules for us Hinata." – Ino passed the notes to Hinata while she placed the board in the middle of the table. Following Hinata's instructions Ino and Lee arranged the thick white candles around the group on the floor encircling them and placing the last one on the top of the board. Naruto and Kiba then went to work on lighting the candles with a couple of lighters while Lee switched off the main lights in the room, bathing the room in moonlight.

Placing the glass planchette in the base position on the wooden board the group observed the old mahogany surface for a moment. It had letters from A to Z, with numbers from 0 to 9 below it, yes and no above it, a beautiful icon of the Sun in the top left corner and a Moon symbol at the top right corner, and goodbye at the bottom. Everything was written in neat italics.

The notes were quite thorough, mainly due to the excessive caution advised and proclamation of other chronological facts about the board besides the rules of the game.

"Never ask the spirit to prove their existence as in doing so provokes e-evil spirits into your home. To try and prevent an evil spirit coming to the board try starting the session and ending it with a prayer. Always end the session by moving the planchette to 'Goodbye' and turning the board upside d-down" – Hinata read tensely while the group listened distractingly, her stutter appearing due to the building anxiety.

"Skip that boring part, go straight to the main thing Hina" - Kiba rushed her slightly while sipping on his beer. Naruto nodded in unison beside him. She frowned lightly in protest and dipped her head in nervousness while skipping a few pages looking for the main guidelines.

The feeling of trepidation intensified in the pit of Hinata's stomach, clenching almost painfully. Nevertheless she carried on not wanting to ruin it for her friend's sakes. Her hands became damp and slightly shook as she started reading out the main rules of the game.

"Before the session everyone must hold hands to say 'Let there be no evil forces or demons'." - Everyone complied.

"Sit facing each other, knees touching if possible, designate one person as the medium" - She stops and they all look to her to be the chosen medium as she was the one reading the instructions.

She almost can't swallow the sudden lump in her throat and the blood rushed in her ears. Swallowing thickly she carried on.

"Gently place your index and middle fingers on the planchette on the board. Slowly move the planchette in circles to let the board warm up, and concentrate on what you want to ask." - Everyone placed their fingers on the planchette, Hinata continued to read while doing the same.

"Rest your fingers on it firmly but without much force. The planchette should move to the letters. It will take some time so don't expect the spirit to answer immediately. Have the medium ask questions, one at a time. Do not take your fingers off the planchette before bidding the spirit goodbye."

Hinata wavered momentarily but continued quickly after. She put down the instructions in front of her.

"Is there anybody w-with us?" – She spoke quietly. There was a pregnant pause and they sat there in silence for a couple of minutes expecting something, anything to happen. Seeing some of her friends growing impatient she asked again but still nothing happened.

Then suddenly they were startled by the sound of the resonating clock tower located high on the main building close by to indicate that it was two in the morning. Regaining composure Hinata said it again but a little louder this time and the planchette moved to the left mid corner of the board.

'Yes'

…

Dun-dun-DUN! Cliff hanger…

Hope you enjoyed reading this new and improved chapter! Please let me know what you think! Please excuse any grammatical mistakes that I may have made as I don't have a Beta… :'( , any volunteers? :D

Sorry that there isn't any SasuHina yet but it's going to be a bit of a slow burn I'm afraid

Unless you count the eye smex between hinata and the scarlet box? Lol

The next chapter will be uploaded in a few days time

Stay tuned!