A/N: So basically I've made a bad life choice and decided to start yet another story, although hopefully one that will be finished this time. I am still working on a few of my others but despite having planned the plots out already I'm just not feeling very motivated at the moment, so I thought I'd write one of the ideas for a fanfic that's been in my head for a pretty long time. I've always wished that Sakura had some kind of kekkei-genkai of her own, something that would allow her to actually contribute to Team 7 and not just stand around doing nothing as Naruto and Sasuke fought the villains. This story is kinda the result of that. I will try my best to keep her from instantly becoming overpowered, or a Mary Sue. I'll also try to keep her in character as much as possible, although that may be hard since I really hated her fangirling personality (ok, so maybe I'm planning to get rid of that tendency a bit too fast). Anyways, not sure where exactly I'm going with this so I guess I'll just end it off. Please let me know if you like the story!

[prologue]

The Konoha cemetery was eerie enough by day. It had been built back in the time of the founding, before the period of expansion, and was relatively near to the heart of the village. Despite this, noise from the bustling neighbourhood surrounding it never seemed to reach the large graveyard, and even the few visitors of the deceased didn't dare to make a sound, pressed down upon by the otherworldly quiet of the place. It could be a cloudless day too, the sun shining endlessly down on everything, and the cemetery would still be cast in shadows, a chill breeze floating between the gravestones.

By night though…

Sakura shivered, wrapping her thin hoodie around herself tighter. It wasn't a chilly night by any means - the opposite even; it was springtime now, with the days growing longer and the flowers beginning to bloom.

Despite this, as she passed through the gate to the cemetery, and over the threshold that separated it from the rest of the village, she felt the air around her drop in temperature and the night quiet. Even the eternally lively bar a block down couldn't be heard anymore; surprising, as despite her apartment being triple the distance away, it somehow always managed to keep her up at night with all the screams and loud noises.

She looked around graveyard spread quite a distance, taking up a large chunk of the downtown, but having been built on flat ground like most of Konoha, it was possible to see almost the entirety of it.

There was no one in sight, not that she'd expected there to be at this time of night. Civilians were normally asleep by now, or somewhere else, choosing to pay their respects by day. Ninja didn't tend to come here often either. Most that died didn't have graves, just a name carved on a stone, and the ones that did were mostly buried within their clan compounds. Only the shinobi from the time of Konoha's founding and the few clanless ninja who'd been lucky enough to die from old age were buried here.

Hoping to spend as little time as possible in the eerie place, Sakura quickened her pace, making for the four largest gravestones at the very back of the cemetery.

She didn't want to walk - each step seemed longer than the last and every shadow hid a creature. But she didn't want to run either. That would be like giving in to her fears - and goddamnit, she was a shinobi, not a little girl scared of the dark.

Consciously, she corrected herself. No, not a shinobi.

Not anymore.

Not yet.

Sakura reached the little shrine she had been aiming for, and gently traced a finger over the name carved into the plaque.

Hashirama Senju.

Shodaime Hokage of Konohagakure.

A thin mist hang here, wisping between the graves and making it hard to see far. Not that it mattered, Sakura knew exactly whom each of these mausoleums belonged to.

Tobirama's grave was next to his brothers, then Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze. The four Hokage of Konoha, the faces of the mountain.

It must be odd, she thought for no particular reason, to live with your grave already carved out for you - your final resting place already made. The third Hokage was still among the living yet his tomb had already been built, sitting perfectly in between the second and fourth.

Cautiously, she fished a small key from her pocket, rolling it around in her palm. If Mizuki hadn't lied then it would fit perfectly in the padlock chaining the crypt of the Shodaime.

She stared at the lock suspiciously. It looked centuries old, covered in rust and mold. It might not even open. She sighed, crouching down to unlock the chains, when suddenly she heard a sound from behind her.

Sakura whirled around, heart pounding rapidly. There was no one there - the sound a figment of her imagination.

With a last cautious glance around she turned back towards the tomb. The key fit into the lock easily and with a decisive click the lock sprang open.

Carefully, she removed the chains keeping the entrance to the crypt shut and pushed open the stone door. It slid open smoothly, the absence of any creaking grating more on her nerves than the actual sound would have.

The tomb was almost sixty years old and time degraded everything. The padlock clicking open like a well-oiled spring, the door revolving on its hinge without a sound…

Sakura took a deep breath, feeling fear flood her mind. She cast a quick glance behind her, her heartbeat so loud she could hear it pounding in her ears.

An overwhelming sense of being out of place engulfed her. A little girl, all alone in a field full of dead people, the wind seemed to whisper.

The rational part of her mind told her she was just scaring herself, but the emotion was stronger than logic and she felt a few warms tears roll down her cheeks.

She could leave now.. She could close the tomb and run back to the world of the living. Why was she even doing this? Screw Mizuki, this was wrong! It went against everything she stood for

She backed away from the tomb, shaking slightly

Then, unbidden, another part of her mind spoke up: But the look on Ino's face when she didn't show up next morning. Or worse, the look on Sasuke's face. What everyone would think of her when they realized that Sakura Haruno had failed.

She was a disappointment of a shinobi. even Naruto, who'd failed the exam twice already, had passed this year.

She thought of the shiny headband that she'd held for just a moment.

Sakura bit her lip and resolutely turned back towards the mausoleum, ducking her head to avoid hitting the low ceiling and entering.

Inside, it was a few degrees cooler than the night outside. There were narrow steps leading down and moss-ridden sconces lined the wall. Slowly, she moved down into the crypt, one hand trailing against the wall. The light lessened as she went further down and soon there was barely enough light to see the steps in front of her.

She could light the sconces, she thought, debating, but decided against it. The moon provided enough light, if barely, and more than that there was the strong sense that the light would draw things - and not necessarily people.

Finally reaching the bottom of the steps, Sakura stepped into the small chamber. It was barely tall enough for her to fit and as it was she could feel her head brush the ceiling. It was narrow too, with maybe only half a metre of space on either side of the coffin in the centre.

Crouching down, Sakura ran a light hands over the engravings in the wood coffin, hard to see by the dim light streaming through the far away square that was the entrance.

From what she could tell, the coffin was covered in pictures, each one telling a story. They intrigued her and had she been here by day Sakura might've taken the time to properly examine them. As it was though, it was night, and all she wanted was to get out of here.

Standing up again and moving to the right of the coffin, she pushed on the lid, trying to slide it off. It only budged slightly, the material much heavier than it looked. She tried again, this time putting her entire weight into it and reluctantly the coffin opened. The lid slid off onto the ground with a muffled clang. The fact that she would somehow have to get it back on later was lost by the sight of the uncovered corpse inside.

Even after all these years, Hashirama's body hadn't decayed at all, not even insects and animals having dared to touch it. HIs eyes were closed and in the dark he could've simply been sleeping.

Shaking off the odd feeling that he might wake up at any moment and see her, Sakura slid her small bag off her back, rummaging through it as she moved closer to the corpse. Finding what she'd been looking for, she fished out a small pocketknife and the glass petri dish Mizuki had given her.

It was easy enough. All she needed to do was collect a few of Hashirama's cells and the headband would be hers.

Pushing down the sense of wrongness again, she analytically studied the corpse of the first Hokage.

He had been buried in his Hokage robes, so the most logical choice would be to take a sample of skin from his upper body. Unless someone decided to change the dead Hokage no one would ever find out.

She bit her lip. It was the smart thing to do.

But the disgust with herself that she'd been pushing down welled up, stronger than before. Carving the Shodaime's body up like a dead animal, she just couldn't do it.

Instead, she brought her gaze down to his hand. She could cut off the very tip of a finger. It'd be easier to notice missing than a sample of his body but it wasn't obvious either.

A faint gust of wind that had somehow made it down into the crypt rustled the nape of her neck, sending a shiver down her spine. Time to get on with it.

Sakura shuffled closer to the coffin and flipped open her pocket knife. She reached down and her fingers brushed Hashirama's.

Sakura froze.

There was an odd tingle in her fingertips, originating from where her bare skin touched the corpse.

Instinctively she tried to yank her fingers away, only to panic as she found she couldn't move them. Her breaths came faster now as she desperately tried to move away.

The feeling didn't hurt necessarily, but it was so strange. Like something growing through her veins.

It had spread by now, making its way up her arm.

She dropped the pocketknife and grabbed at her wrist with her other arm, throwing all her bodyweight backwards in an attempt to escape.

To her horror, the thing spread to her other arm as well, steadily carving an unstoppable path through her body.

By now it was at her heart and later Sakura could've sworn she felt the moment when her heart stopped beating.

Forgetting everything, she screamed.

Then the thing reached her brain and everything went dark.