Author's note: I am a disclaimer.
Hello there everyone. Since a lot of people liked my Lost Village fanfiction, I decided to do another version of it. This one won't be with so much fluff and a lot of things will be either different or better explained. This will also take place during the Shippuden times, instead. So sit back, relax and enjoy.
His name resounded in his mind. His heart felt as though it were a butterfly beating against a cage. He was here and he was near. He could see him, could reach him. Even now, his teammate's cries and sensei's shouts were nothing to him. He was somewhere in those looming shadows that closed around him; watching and waiting. Mocking him with ever fiber of his being, causing Naruto's heart to stir even more and his blood to boil. He was chasing him now, the black and white figure whose outline only belonged to the Uchiha survivor. Naruto's hand reached for his shoulder, his heart skipping a beat as he grasped onto the kimono's lose clothing. "Sasuke!"
-_-_-_-_-
Naruto sat up in bed, sweat beading from his forehead as he glanced around for some trace of the person he searched for even in his dreams. His heart fell and his eyes lost their dazed sparkle, returning to lonely orbs of sadness. He wasn't here, it had just been a dream. Falling back onto his pillow, the blond haired boy closed his eyes and felt his stomach gurgle lightly from the dinner he had eaten a few hours earlier. His clock read that it was far too early to get up, three in the morning to be exact. The shinobi rolled over on his stomach and clutched the pillow to his face, small droplets of salty water running down onto the cushion and soaking it. Would he ever find him? He didn't know, nor did he want to know the answer, seeing as it was leaning away from his favorable reply.
Naruto fell back into a sound sleep as his mind wandered on the ex-teammate whom had once been his brother and his best friend. "I miss you…" He mumbled to himself, unaware of the pair of dark black eyes that stared at him with an unreadable expression.
"Naruto…"
The calling of his name made him jolt awake again, though the rough night had caused him to place his head back into the pillow and moan. No way, it was time to get up already? The alarm screamed beside him and confirmed his suspicion. Throwing the stupid thing at the wall, he cursed and sat up. "Okay, okay; I'm up." He mumbled, finally peering around the room. Yet, no one was to be seen. Had he imagined the voice, or perhaps the Kyuubi had called upon him? Either way, the teenager stretched and hopped out of bed. He knew that if he didn't hurry, he wouldn't hear the end of it from Sakura and Tsunade when he did reach the Hokage building.
His bare feet stepped onto the cold, wooden floor and awoke him a bit more. His bright, sky blue orbs found their way to the bathroom. He moved towards it in slow motion, unable to get motivated. The dream about Sasuke had really shaken him up, though he couldn't figure out why. He had many dreams of the boy, some more frightening than the one of the previous night. His mind tried to wrap around why it had meant so much as he opened the door and stepped into his bathroom. His gaze caught the white shower curtain and he stumbled out the doorway and onto his behind. A shadowy figure appeared behind it, though he couldn't make out who it was. Just as soon as he blinked, the said image was gone. Hurrying over to the curtain and ripping it open, he found no one. Naruto stood there for a few more moments before blaming it on his tired mind and discarded his boxers. Turning the silver handle, his mind now more alert, he gave a sigh of relief as warm water fell over him like a gentle rain.
It hadn't taken long for the ninja to prepare his gear and put on his headband before he dashed out the door, jumping the railing of the second floor and falling to the ground. He took off in a dead sprint towards the tower that seemed to be the center of their lovely village. Konohagakure was always so busy with the merchants in the streets and ninja running in or out of the village for missions and reports. Naruto smiled as he reached the bottom of his destination where a certain kunoichi had been waiting for him. Good, he had gotten here before the other bastard. A moment before he had reached said pillar though, Sai appeared in a puff of smoke. That smug smile, or as Naruto had taken it, clung to his face as he put up a hand in greeting. "Yo."
The other male skidded to a stop, glaring at his teammate now. "Don't you start." He said, growling in the back of his throat.
The clearing of a throat made him look over to his pink haired friend, Sakura Haruno. The medical chunnin did not look amused nor in the mood for either of them to start a fight. He knew better than to actually cross her thin line of patience. "Can't you settle down? It's only seven in the morning and you are already picking a fight?"
"Yea, why did I come so early? You know Kakashi-"
"Is very happy to see you too, Naruto." The white haired nin replied behind his late pupil.
Naruto shrieked and spun around, knocking into Sai in the process. The dark haired nin grabbed him before he fell, but Naruto of course saw it as Sai being a smart ass. "Don't touch me!"
"Oi, oi! That's no way to start the morning." Kakashi said, looking at Sakura who shook her head.
No, he would never grow up. Both of them knew it. However, Kakashi's message was more urgent than a lecture. One he didn't feel like giving anyways. He smirked behind his navy blue colored mask. If he wanted their attention, he supposed he'd get it with a little bait. "I know where Sasuke is."
The statement was enough to freeze time for the said members of squad seven, three pairs of eyes widening at the words. Of course, as always, Naruto was the first to jump to the challenge. "Where?!"
Kakashi placed a hand on his hip, closing his eyes as he repeated the mission over to the younger ninja. Tsunade had come into the Hokage office to find the window open. Though no one was found, there was a simple letter on her desk. After the ANBU deemed it harmless, she read the scribble and had called him in. Someone had left them a note on her desk on Sasuke's whereabouts. "The Uchiha was last seen heading towards the Minakami area." Kakashi said, his eyes gazing behind him towards the area where they were headed.
"Tsunade was skeptical but she says that she has good reason to believe that it is true." He added, sounding about as confused as the others looked. Putting up his gloved hands, he gave a nervous chuckle. "Anyways, we should get going before the lead goes dead, right?" He questioned, receiving furious nods from both Naruto and Sakura.
That was all that needed to be said and they were off, heading towards the Minakami area. It would take a day's run and Kakashi knew that his team would cross it within half a day, what being as motivated as they were.
It had been almost five hours before they reached the area near the sight, now deep within the woods. Kakashi stopped, holding up the rest of the team. "Ne, ne? Kakashi-sensei? Why are we stopping here?" Naruto demanded as he skidded a few feet in front of the elder.
"We need to rest, not to mention we are near a stream. Let's enjoy the scenery before we go get ourselves killed." The silver haired male recommended.
Agreeing, Naruto walked over to a stump and sat down, gazing into the small stream that ran a few feet from his sandals. "Hard to believe this will all be gone soon."
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, looking back at Sakura.
The kunoichi shrugged and sat on the ground beside him. "I work for Tsunade, so I heard about the case this morning. Apparently a dam is going in soon. That's why we had to hurry here as quick as we did. We didn't want to lose any trail of Sasuke." Sakura said, her emerald eyes going to the ground.
Now it made sense. Sakura must have researched the site and pushed for the mission to go as early as it did. Naruto's mouth gently curved into a smile. She must have longed for him just as much as he had. She didn't really love Sasuke, not like she had. He was a dear friend that she just wanted to see home. "That's not the only thing.." The kunoichi whispered. "There have been a lot of disturbing disappearances lately, around this part."
Kakashi nodded as he walked behind the two, causing them to look up. His face held seriousness and his features were hard. "One of the surveyors went missing along with his fiancée. There are also a few creepy legends that go along with this story."
Sai now joined the group, sitting besides Naruto on the other side of the stump. "Legends?" He questioned, though you couldn't tell he was honestly interested.
Sakura's face turned into disgust. Who believed in such folklore anyways? "What's the legend?" Naruto pressed, looking over at the pinkette who snorted.
"It was a load of rubbish. There was nothing concrete behind it, but I guess there is a village that disappeared during a Shinto ritual quite a few years ago. It says that if you go into the said village, you can't come back out. Thus it being called 'The Lost Village.'"
Naruto's shiver made her shake her head again. "You don't honestly believe that, do you?" She asked as she stood, placing her hands on her hips.
"I don't know, Sakura. I've seen a lot of weird stuff in these last passed years. I'm not gonna say that I don't believe in anything, anymore."
Kakashi nodded, a small smile on his features. "That is true."
"I'm telling you, it's an old woman's tale. Let's just get ready to go." Sakura said, walking over to her bag which she had put on the ground.
Naruto stood up and brushed himself off, before looking towards the direction they were headed again. What he saw astounded him. Sasuke? Yes, the raven was standing a few yards away, but clearly visible. Without a second thought, the blonde took off towards the other ninja. His rush cause Sakura and Sai to turn their heads, eyes widened at the sudden rush and urgency in their friend's sprint. "Naruto? Naruto, what is it?!" Sakura screamed, throwing the bag over her shoulders and taking off after him. Sai and Kakashi right on her heels, screaming for Naruto to stop.
The blonde ignored his teammates as he followed Sasuke's Uchiha fan that was getting closer and closer. The red seemed to stick out the most as the world around him went black and white. It didn't stop him as he moved closer, screaming the Uchiha's name with all the strength he could muster. His hand reached towards the kimono shoulder as the world around him went completely black. It was only he and Sasuke now, playing cat and mouse with each other. Blue orbs opened wide as Sasuke turned and Naruto slammed into him. Instead of falling on the hard ground, he floated just above Sasuke as the raven stared at him with a small smile. Pale finger tips brushed his beautiful tan face as he whispered something that could not be heard. "Sasuke…?"
The world seemed to come back to him in a blur and he no longer knew where he was. He stood on a path in front of some kind of traditional gate. His gaze was torn from the gate as he heard whispering of a young woman's. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry."
Naruto spun around, looking for the source and finding himself face to face with a crimson colored butterfly. Blinking, he noticed it wasn't the only one. There were so many on the ground, scattered in a circle around him. He went to touch the beautiful creatures, when all the insects reacted. They flew upward and around him, before flying up the path and beyond the Shinto gate. Naruto raised a brow but followed them up the steep hill, seeing a small fire in the distance anyways. Wait, fire? The blonde blinked and looked up at the moon that seemed to shine in all its glory. Since when had it turned to nightfall?
Still, the fire meant Sasuke might have been nearby. The Konoha nin raced up the path, his way lit by the moonlight and the slightly glowing butterflies. The path gave away to some kind of flat surface over looking a village. Creeping forward, he blinked as he moved toward the sight. The butterflies had landed on the hillside, waiting for him it seemed like.
"You finally came…" A voice whispered in his ear, a hand placed over his eyes and around his waist where he couldn't move. The touch was ice cold and Naruto couldn't help but wonder if tiny needles were piercing his soul. Yanking the hand away, he turned and cursed. Again, no one was to be found.
"Naruto?!"
The blonde looked to see his teammates running passed the Shinto gate. Sakura hurried over and hugged him tightly, crying into his shoulder. "We thought we had lost you!"
"What are you talking about? I thought you're the one that said you didn't believe in legends." Naruto teased but patted her head either way.
What was up? Even Sai looked worried. "We thought you had been spirited away…"
The blonde paused before bursting out into laughter. "You've gotta be kidding me? Do you really believe that shit?"
It earned him a nice bonk on the head. "Even Kakashi said it was possible! Don't joke like that!" Sakura said, shoving him away.
Naruto rolled his eyes as he held his head, not caring as the fuming kunoichi went back to the center of the hill where a large stone was wrapped in ceremonial rope and paper. "Can we leave now?"
"No. I saw Sasuke! He's gotta be here somewhere!"
"I want to leave, Naruto. Now!" Sakura boomed, heading back towards the Shinto gate.
"What about Sasuke?" The other shinobi asked, almost whining. He wouldn't leave. Not when he had come this far.
"Naruto, don't you feel it? This place is dangerous! We should get out of here."
Naruto finally seemed to get what she was saying as he glanced back at the village that seemed to be shrouded in darkness. "The Lost Village…"
"Exactly…"
"I don't care, I wanna go find Sasuke. A peek won't hurt." He coaxed, his gaze switching to plead with Kakashi.
The sensei put a hand to his chin and closed his eyes. "Well, since we are here.."
"You can't be serious?!" Sakura cried, spinning around. "Sensei, this place….can't you-"
"Sakura. Spirits can't hurt you." Sai said flatly.
"Oh really?" She challenged, glaring at him with daggers.
He shrugged and turned to Naruto. "Why don't we go take a look? If you guys want, head back and take a better mission. I doubt we'll need more than two ninjas on this mission anyways."
It was settled either way, because Naruto and Sai began to walk down the path that led down into the village. Kakashi bit the fabric of his mask and looked back at Sakura. "Let's go."
"Sensei, you can't possibly-"
"Trust me, Sakura…we need to find a way out of here…I'm starting to wonder where the path is… Once we find it, we'll come back and snatch them up."
Reluctantly, the other nodded.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Naruto smirked as he placed his hands over his head, walking with the usually unpleasant Sai. "Can you believe how bad she's freaked out?"
"Sakura-san is…freaked out?"
"Yea. She overreacted."
Man, this guy needed schooling on human emotion. The woods around them darkened before opening to the first two houses. The shinobi walked down the pathway more, when Naruto's eyes widened. "W-Wait!"
"Wha-" Sai's voice cut off, something that was rare indeed.
A few feet, not even twenty, in front of them, a ghostly shadow of a woman looked at them. Her shrunken eyes looked sad as she turned and walked into the first house to the left. It took both of them a few seconds before they bolted after the shadow. "What the fuck was that?" Naruto questioned as he reached the door.
Sai looked at the rotting wood and shook his head. "Not sure…I wonder if anyone is here."
Naruto gave a silent nod and went to open the door when something, someone whispered in his ear, "Are you leaving me again?"
Jumping up and turning in mid air, he swore he saw Sasuke's figure before it disappeared into nothingness. He stared at the spot hard, almost as if demanding silently that he show his face again. "Naruto…are you coming or are you afraid?" Sai asked, breaking his concentration.
The skinny, pale, raven haired boy had a raised brow and his hand was on the door knob. "Yea, I'm coming." He replied in a mumble before sauntering after Sai. 'Are you taunting me Sasuke?' He thought, shivering. The two males walked into the old style house. Its entrance wasn't long. The walls were dirty with time and little care. On the right side were shelves of jars, the contents looking disgusting and hard. An open window made by wood that was now weakened and covered in mold, showed into another room of the house. One with kimonos and a closet with a few boxes in the back, but still just as haunting as this one. The air was suffocating as Naruto stuck close to Sai. This place gave him the creeps and they needed to find that woman so they could find Sasuke.
"Why?"
The words were harsh and that of a woman's. Sai was knocked back into the jars, that spilt their foul smelling liquid all over him, when Naruto basically threw himself into the boy's shoulder for protection.
"What was that?!"
"What was what?" Sai asked, sounding annoyed as he pushed the other off of him. He had heard no noise, saw nothing to be afraid of.
The last thing he needed was Naruto to let his imagination run wild. "You didn't hear that, just now?" Naruto demanded, looking back towards where the woman had stood. Her dark eyes looked sad but her voice had been like that of a demon's and reminded him a lot of the Kyuubi's voice. Sai shook his head again and picked himself up. "Naruto, are you sure you want to check it out? You could wait outside?"
Naruto swallowed hard but he had come too far to turn back now. His eyes held the fear of a child while his will held him stead fast. "Let's just hurry, okay?"
The ANBU member gave a sigh and pulled open the door that lead into the house itself. He began to take off his shoes when Naruto grabbed his shoulder. "Leave it, there is no one in here anyways and you don't wanna step on glass." He said, moving passed and walking into the wide open area. There was a hallway, made of dirt that led into the back of the house, straight ahead of him. The rest of the room was apparently a place that one might classify as a 'living room'. There was a shrunken fireplace in the middle of the deck that separated more than three-fourths of the room from the dirt path. Walking onto the deck after testing it with a few taps of his foot, Naruto's eyes went to the fireplace as he walked over to it. The ashes around it meant someone had been there already, but maybe not for a while. "Do you think anyone is really here?" Naruto asked over his shoulder. However, something made him freeze. Sai was gone, he was alone. Standing up abruptly, his eyes widened as a woman in a white kimono appeared beside the door they had just entered, her hand over the knob. "W-Who are you?!" The blonde demanded, but his only reply was a sadistic grin that appeared on her features.
Worst of all, he could slightly see through her. Turning, she revealed the front of her silk white kimono, which was splattered with blood stains. Her laugh, cold and hard, rang out as she walked towards him slowly. From behind the door, Sai screamed for Naruto to open up, however his voice sounded so far away now. The young girl in front of him couldn't have been older than thirteen or fourteen. Her ghostly hand reached out and he flinched away, deathly afraid and unable to move. "He left you alone, didn't he?"
The words made his chest tighten and his eyes snapped open. "Wh-ho-?"
His face was seized and went numb as the prickling of needles and something that felt similar to a stab hit his chest. The world around him twisted as he saw Sasuke walking through the door that he had just came through, the one that Sai was banging on. He glanced in his direction and walked over to the stairs that was on the far left side of the room. His eyes narrowed as he moved up them quickly, as though something caught his eye. "Naruto?!" Sasuke's voice rasped, hurrying up the stairs before the vision faded.
Naruto shoved away from the laughing girl and fell onto his behind, feeling the floor groan underneath his weight. Shaking his head back and forth, he shivered and glanced up. The girl was gone and a piece of paper was lying where she once stood. Picking it up, his eyes narrowed as he held the flimsy, old rice paper and read the smeared message. 'Didn't you promise me…together, forever…'
Sai's desperate call snapped him out of the daze the ghost had left him in. "Naruto, Naruto? Open the door! Damn it, open the door!"
His voice was strained, worried.
Rushing over, the blonde tugged on the handle. "Naruto?!"
"Yea, I can't open it! It's stuck." Naruto called back, shaking it before trying to ram into the rotten wood. It was like hitting a brick wall. The boy bounced off and held his shoulder.
"I've already tried that…Wait here, I'm gonna try and find another way in!" Sai yelled.
"No! Don't leave me! Don't leave me in this house, do you hear me Sai?" Naruto screamed, his voice now laced with almost something that could be described as insanity.
Sai's eyes widened. He had merely gotten locked in, right? No big deal, so why was he freaking out so much? The door had shut in his face when the blonde walked through, but it wasn't something that couldn't be possible. "I promise, I'll be back." He said, trying to comfort the shinobi on the other side before hurrying out the door.
"He won't be back.."
Naruto whirled around on his heel, plastering himself against the door. This voice was a woman's but different. It was the girl that had seen in the entrance. Her dress was different from the bloody kimono girl's and her aura seemed more full of…sorrow than hate. Again, she was see through and her body seemed to glide towards the stairs. "He won't come here….Masumi…"
He watched as she walked up the stairs, her head bowed so her black, shoulder length hair covered her face. "Even though we finally met….why…? Where is he?" She moaned mournfully.
Naruto's heart was skipping beats and doing the Irish jig in his ribcage, but he scrambled up the stairs. He talked to the younger woman; maybe this one would know where Sasuke actually was. Besides, the raven had gone upstairs in his vision. He had been in such a rush that he hadn't checked each step and his leg suddenly gave way as the step collapsed under him. Yanking it free, he hurried to the top, gripping the railing. The passage way led to another door, where the woman and Sasuke stood. However, it wasn't his Sasuke. It was a vision of sorts. The raven's eyes were on the door, his hand gripping the handle tightly. "Where is he?" The two of them whispered at the same time. Then, they vanished.
"No, no, Sasuke!" Naruto screamed as he rushed over to the door and yanked it open.
It led into a large room, one for perhaps a guest. There was a lone dresser on the right side, a book case that was dilapidated in the back, and a few pillows scattered on the floor. Then, he saw him. Sasuke was slumped in the back, his eyes closed as he huddled in the corner, asleep. At the next step he took, the raven's eyes snapped open. Thankfully, he wasn't a ghost this time. Naruto could tell by his pale, yet solid appearance. Then again, with pale white features such as his, it would have been hard to tell for anyone who didn't know the raven haired man. "Naruto?" His voice sounded alarmed and raspy.
The blonde hurried over, no longer remembering that Sasuke had been an ex-nin of Konoha, or that the other was part of Orochimaru's gang now. He crouched beside him as Sasuke sat up from the wall. "You really came…"
Naruto blinked. His voice sounded far away, like he was thinking about something. "Teme, what are you doing here?"
"Hmph. Why are you here?"
"No fair, I asked yo-"
"Shut up."
A firm hand clamped over his mouth to keep the idiot from responding as something moved behind him. Again, the woman's raspy voice hissed behind him, "Why?"
Naruto glanced behind him and nearly screamed if Sasuke hadn't pulled him back into his lap and kept his hand over the blonde's mouth. The woman was crouched beside him, glaring at him. She looked at Sasuke then, her pointed gaze meeting with his own warning glance. Obviously, she knew not to trifle with him.
"Masumi-"
"Leave, woman." Sasuke commanded, his tone one that left no room for question that he'd attack if she didn't.
Naruto couldn't help it as he pressed back into the other's chest as she hissed at him, her gapping mouth a black hole as she screamed and disappeared. "She's also became trapped here…" Sasuke explained after a moment, his grip never loosening on Naruto's mouth, as if afraid the blonde might scream and bring her back. "She came here, looking for someone she loved….Masumi from the notes I've found. However, he was turned into a spirit and killed her…now she is like him and wanders around looking for the answer. She can't pass on."
Finally, his jaw was released and he was dumped on the floor as Sasuke stood up. "There are many of these…things here. You can't harm them without channeling chakra into them. That's the only thing that seems to work."
"You never answered my question!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping up and grabbing a hold of Sasuke's white kimono clad arm. His grip tightened as the raven tried to shrug him off. "I was led here by you, I thought." Sasuke growled, suddenly seeming to be very, very angry with his ex-teammate.
"What are you talking about? I chased you here."
"An illusion of me…something she wanted you to see…" He said, walking back towards the door.
"She..?"
"Let's go. You didn't come alone, right? I sensed Kakashi a few hours ago and figured I'd wait here….but now I don't sense him at all." The raven informed him, causing Naruto's eyes to widen. "Do you think they got out of the village?"
"Perhaps..but- Naruto, what are you doing?" Sasuke demanded as the blonde suddenly took off towards the door and threw it open. He jumped over the balcony, crashing down to the wooden floor and through it. That didn't stop him as he darted off the said deck and hurried over to the door. Sasuke scrambled out after him. "Where are you going, dobe?"
"I'm sorry…I have to go.."
Sasuke blinked at the sudden behavior. He could understand that maybe Naruto was worried about his comrades, but his voice had been almost like he was caught in a trance. Rubbing his forehead, the raven began his descent down the stairs, quickly yet gracefully. Naruto hadn't led him here, it had been an illusion. Naruto had also been led here by an illusion of himself. It didn't make any sense. The raven had come when Orochimaru gave him a note the he had received. Apparently, his brother had challenged him and demanded to meet him in the area. Of course, the younger Uchiha had hurried to the Minakami area. However, as he had entered the woods, he could tell something wasn't right. Then, he had seen Naruto running through the woods. Fearing that the blonde might run into Itachi, even if he'd never say it, the raven chased him. And thus, he was led into this cursed village. At first, he thought it was simple genjutsu, but he was proven wrong as he activated his Sharingan. For the rest of the day, he had wandered around the entrance gate and into the Osaka house, chasing a woman's ghost as she began to tell him more and more about the village. He had learned from notes and documents scattered about the room that this village was indeed, the legendary 'Lost Village.'
He, naturally, had Kabuto research the area he was going to battle Itachi on. He had heard about a massacre, that some kind of ritual failed and that people that went in could never come out. Apparently, a lone woman had killed all the villagers and the spirits couldn't rest. They lived the night of the massacre over and over again, and kill off any who intrude on the village. Of course, such nonsense was beyond belief, or it was before he had come to the said village. While wandering, the woman that had disturbed them a moment ago, had nearly killed him. His weapons did nothing and his punches merely went through the apparition, of course. However, his electric chidori, one full of chakra, had made her repel and stay away for the most part. Now all he had to do, was simply use a tad bit of chakra to repel her and she had learned better than to attack him. Something else bothered the elder teenager as he opened the door and walked out into the entrance hall. Why was it just Naruto and he whom seemed to be seeing all these apparitions? Of course, he couldn't say that for sure, but he didn't think that the others were having too difficult of a time, or he would have sensed the struggle. Either way, it was irrelevant right now. He had to find the idiot before he was hurt. He didn't know why, but his gut told him that if he left without Naruto, he'd regret it. A stoic expression on his face still, he walked casually out of the Osaka house and began to walk further into the village when a shriek of laughter rang out ahead of him. A sick, twisted, woman's laughter that chilled the air and seemed to mock him. His eyes narrowed as he took off after the source of the twisted and cruel laughter. He ran deeper into the village, twisting and turning past a few more houses and down cold stone steps. Skidding to a stop, his eyes took in a large gate that seemed to surround a mansion in the distance. More importantly, Naruto was walking through it's large oak doors, which shut behind him and in Sasuke's face as he ran to grab the boy. Yanking on them, he found that they held fast. Even after trying a few fireballs, there was no way to open the doors in front of him. Discouraged, he turned and slammed his fist into the stone wall beside him.
His whole body shivered as something grabbed his shoulder.
"You have to hurry….or the ritual will be fulfilled." A quiet, loving voice whispered in his ear.
Sasuke turned around to see a young woman in a white kimono. Her face was sad as she reached up and touched his own, before disappearing. Sasuke was frozen stiff as he put his own finger tips to the place she touched. It was cold. Turning back to the gate, he blinked when he saw the doors swing open. The girl's voice echoed behind him as he dashed forward, towards the mansion, "Hurry."