Haha. I know I should be working hard with my other stories like Tragedy's Child and The Robot but this idea has been stuck on my mind for so long I can hardly get it out without feeling free. But now I have posted the first chapter, and I feel wonderful.
This story is talking about ghosts…I hope you don't mind! And I've spent a lot of thought on it! I hope you like it.
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The Ghost of a Child
"There's a ghost living in that house. He doesn't want to leave. Because he has one more wish before he leaves this world…"
June 29th. That was the day the entire clan perished. All of them died at the hands of their own flesh-and-blood prodigy, Uchiha Itachi. He spared no one, not even his little brother.
Five years later, Uzumaki Naruto is sent to investigate the scene of the crime. Rumors say that Itachi's little brother's spirit still lives on, trapped in the house, unwilling and unable to get out. They say they hear a boy laughing and crying each night. But no one knows. Because no one dares to enter the forbidden house.
Then Naruto meets Reona, who was a shaman. And she claims that the boy living in the house will not leave the world, until he has done the last thing he wants to do before he leaves. But nobody knows what it is. And further complications arise when Uchiha Itachi shows up.
Away from the world, Naruto must teach the boy-ghost the meaning of life, and the reasons he still clings on to it.
"I would have liked to spend my life with him."
The Ghost
"This mission is a little different from your past missions," Tsunade said. "In this mission, you shall be doing an investigation."
"Investigation?" Naruto scowled. "And by myself? How boring!"
"Oh, you won't find it boring," Tsunade said.
"Fine, fine," Naruto sighed. "Where must I go?"
"Actually," Tsunade said. "You'll be staying here. You see, this mission requires for you to remain in Konoha, because the investigation takes place in Konoha."
"What kind of stupid investigation would that be?" Naruto asked.
"Don't be rude," Tsunade snapped. "First of all, what do you know about the massacre that happened about five years ago?"
"The one that involved an entire clan?" Naruto inquired.
"Yes, what clan was it?" Tsunade questioned.
"Hmm…U…Uchiha, I think."
"Yes, it was the Uchiha clan," Tsunade said. "They were all killed, every one last of them, by their own prodigy, Uchiha Itachi, who is currently labeled and S-Rank criminal is out somewhere on the run. He left nobody alive. He just killed them all, even his little brother."
"How terrible," Naruto commented. "So what's this got to do with my mission?"
"The Uchiha Complex is a cordoned-off section of Konoha," Tsunade said. "The compound serves as a memorial for the massacre that happened there. And it's a historical site, one that is fated never to be eradicated. Therefore, the damage is still there, bloodstains are still there, but all the bodies have been removed. The people living around the Uchiha Complex, especially those living near the representative of the Uchiha clan's house are always complaining about something."
"What thing?" Naruto asked.
"Strange noises," Tsunade replied. "Sometimes it's a laughing sound. Sometimes it's a crying sound. Whichever it is, the noise is harassing, and chilling."
"Are you saying there's a ghost?" Naruto asked incredulously. "You can't possibly believe that!"
"I try not to," Tsunade said. "However, all evidence points straightly at the fact that there might be some form of life still left at the Uchiha Complex, especially at the representative's house. You see, Uchiha Itachi was the representative's first son."
"So what? If you say it's laughing, it can't possibly be the representative since he's like…Itachi's father or something," Naruto said pointedly.
"Yes, we understand that," Tsunade said. "However, the fact is, the representative had another son. A younger son. His second son."
"Oh?"
"And the second son was only seven years old when the massacre happened," Tsunade said. "He was killed, too, of course – the authorities sent his body to the morgue and they buried him somewhere. Everyone was upset about it – because he was so young."
"His brother killed him? What a cold-hearted bastard!" Naruto growled.
"Yes," Tsunade said. "Everyone was commenting and cursing Itachi. Nobody understood why anybody on this earth would want to kill a seven-year-old boy. It was mortifying. At any rate, since the Uchiha clan was so small, that boy was the youngest of his clan. There was a baby belonging to some woman, I remember – but she was killed so it's as good as her child never existed. But that boy was the youngest at that time, the only child attending the Academy."
"So you think he's still alive and prancing around his house?"
"Of course not," Tsunade snapped. "I was there. I saw them take his body to the morgue. More than half of Konoha's population came to his funeral, just for his small section of the funeral, because everyone was just so upset that he died at such a young age. He was truly, too young to die. But he did. And everyone was sorry and upset. I saw them put his body into the earth, and cover it up again. There's absolutely no logical chance that he's actually running around his house. Besides, if he was alive, he'd have enough sense to come out and ask for help."
"You never know," Naruto muttered under his breath. "So you want me to investigate the noise?"
"Yes," Tsunade said. "Your objective is easy. Find out the cause of the noise. I want daily reports. There's no time limit – just try to complete it within your lifespan."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Fine."
With that, he strolled amiably out of the office.
--
When Naruto reached his small apartment, he was already grumbling to himself. To him, this mission was utterly and totally ridiculous.
Some noise, he thought. Honestly, couldn't people live without complaining about this and that?
He grabbed his haversack and began to proceed out of his apartment. Outside, a familiar face waited for him.
"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto was stunned. "Why are you here?"
"Oh, I just wanted to give you a bout of good advice since this is the first time you're going on a mission on your own," Kakashi smiled jovially. "I don't think you're responsible enough, so I want to knock your pride down several notches before you head off."
Naruto glared at his teacher. "Kakashi-sensei! I'm capable and responsible enough!"
"Perhaps in other missions," Kakashi said. "But you know this is different. We're dealing with forces we've never met before. Whatever is making that noise…whatever's in that house…it's definitely not human. I don't have a good feeling about this. It's awkward…that house was evicted years ago. It's not possible for anyone to be living there anymore. And yet, whenever the ANBU go and check, there isn't anybody there. It can't be just a bunch of animals making the noise."
"Oh, please – you think it's a ghost?" Naruto rolled his eyes mentally.
"That's a possibility."
"There's no such thing as a ghost!" Naruto flailed his hands to emphasize the point.
"You might never know," Kakashi said sternly. "It's a possibility."
"Oh, purr-lease!" Naruto groaned. "Fine, I'll just prove to you there's no such thing as ghost!"
"We'll see," Kakashi ruffled the boy's hair playfully. "I'll see you around, Naruto-kun."
"Ah! Zip it!" Naruto said, pushing his sensei's hand out of his head and storming out of his apartment.
"Take care, Naruto-kun!" Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke.
--
Naruto's temporary quarters were not too far from the Uchiha Complex. One of the people living in the apartments that heard the loudest sounds moved out for just a while, so that Naruto could live there.
The owner of the house was a friendly elderly lady. Her name was Chizu.
She was still there when he arrived, packing some of her things into large carton boxes. She smiled warmly at him, and invited him in.
"Oh, you must be Naruto-chan," Chizu said. Her voice was kind and pleasant, and Naruto liked her at first sight.
"Yeah," Naruto acknowledged. "Pleased to meet you, Chizu-bachaan."
"Would you like some milk and cookies?" Chizu asked.
"Yeah, that'll be great," Naruto replied.
He was led to the living room, where they sat down and had some tea, milk and cookies.
"Chizu-bachaan," Naruto began conversation. "Do you hear a lot of noise from the Uchiha Complex often?"
"Oh, yes," Chizu said. "It's very chilling…but at the same time, it makes me feel very sad."
"Why?" Naruto asked. "Do you by any chance know what's making that noise?"
"Well, like everyone here, I have completely no idea what makes that noise," Chizu admitted. "But I do believe…" she sighed. "I know a few things about the Uchiha clan…you see, my sister, Shizu, used to own a bakery in the Uchiha Complex. She was married to a member of the Uchiha clan."
"Oh?" Naruto's interest was triggered. "She was part of the Uchiha clan?"
"Yes," Chizu said. "It was horrifying…the day Itachi-chan killed all of them."
"Itachi?"
"He was the son of the clan's leader," Chizu sighed.
"I know," Naruto said. "Why did he do it?"
Chizu shook her head. "I don't know. But I heard from my sister that there had been disputes within the Uchiha clan just before the massacre. They all said that Itachi's behavior went from bad to worse, strange to stranger. They all believed it was because of the stress that he had from joining ANBU. But it really seemed…that he had lost his way in life. He finally killed them all…that night. Out of rage, depression, sorrow, stress…nobody knows. Nobody understands how he thinks…"
"If you were related to Shizu-san, how come you are safe?" Naruto asked. "If you don't mind my asking," he added.
"Itachi murdered only those who carried the name of Uchiha," Chizu said. "He had no knowledge of me. Shizu seldom spoke of me in the Uchiha clan. Anyway, nobody in the Uchiha clan would be very much interested. They had so many things to fight for, to protect. Their pride, their ego, their goals, their ideals…well…they say that when a man climbs a mountain and reaches the top, the only thing he can do is jump off. The Uchiha clan might their downfall at last…"
"Shizu-bachaan, earlier on, you said that you had some idea of what might be causing the noise – what do you think it is?" Naruto inquired.
"You see, my sister used to admire the younger brother of Itachi-chan – his name was Sasuke-chan, I think," Chizu said. "She used to talk about him all the time – about what a good boy he was, about how nice and pleasant he was, about how kind and gentle he was – and his politeness and courtesy each morning as he walked to wherever he was going."
"You think it's a ghost?" Naruto asked incredulously.
"Sasuke-chan never seemed to receive much attention from his family," Chizu said. "After all, his parents were much too busy for him, except perhaps his mother. And his brother was a prodigy…he had more important things to do than play catch with Sasuke-chan. I think…I think Sasuke-chan is still in that house."
"You do realize the odds of that being true, don't you?" Naruto said.
"Yes, of course," Chizu said. "But it's just intuition…it just seems that…Sasuke-chan is really there…waiting…waiting to find out why his brother killed his family…just waiting…just crying…just laughing…"
Naruto didn't exactly think that Chizu was mad, but that was the first thought that came onto his mind. He quickly brushed it away. Chizu wasn't mad, she was just convinced that the little boy her sister was so fond of might actually still be in the house, a wandering spirit, confused because he was a child and he didn't understand things. Confused of why his own brother, his flesh and blood, would commit such a crime.
"But it's impossible," Naruto sighed. "That boy was dead. The Hokage herself saw them bury him."
"I may not understand these things," Chizu sighed. "But I really believe that Sasuke-chan is still there, still waiting, still wondering."
"I'll try to find out the cause of it," Naruto assured her. "I promise. I really will. If it's a broken pipe, I'll fix it. If it's a cat, I'll take it away. And if it's a ghost, I'll tell it to go."
Chizu smiled. "You're the determined one, Naruto-chan."
"Ha, ha," Naruto chuckled. "I'm well-known for that. Chizu-bachaan, you ought to leave before it becomes dark. Thanks for the milk and cookies."
"It was my pleasure, Naruto-chan," Chizu laughed. "I'll see you then, Naruto-chan."
Naruto watched with a slight frown on his tanned face as the old woman left the house, dragging behind her a trolley loaded with carton boxes.
I'll find out what's in that house.
--
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How was that? Was it too short? It's shorter than my single chapter at Tragedy's Child, I should think! Haha, I spent an hour on this.
Please read and review!