Remaining Shadows

by Hitoko-sama

Sasuke thinks his luck is about to change when he inherits a house from his late Uncle, Madara. But what Sasuke doesn't know is that there's something strange going on in this house. "When love is turned bitter and soiled by affair, hatred grows. Hatred so strong and black that it leaves traces, stains on our world..." YAOI. SasuNaru Rated M for content.

Okay so I took a detour and decided to write a little something for the holidays, because I love Halloween. It means I can write a scary story :D Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy.

Italics: Memories/ present phone conversation
Bold Italics:People speaking in the past

"He, who makes a beast of himself, gets rid of the pain of being a man."
Samuel Johnson

Sirens and lights smothered the dead calm of the night with the unease of their presence. A crowd gathered outside the police line, only heads being able to push through the line as the officers held off curious on-lookers. Across the lawn a stretcher was being taken out, a hand was the only thing that could be seen from under the white sheet. The hand was dripping blood onto the lawn as the paramedics rushed it into the back of an ambulance. They sped off quickly without a second of hesitation.

Mutters and whispers were hushed by a foul screaming coming from the inside of the house. Everyone fell silent. Four officers struggled with the accused perpetrator, dragging him, kicking, and wailing from the house. A van for the criminally insane sat in the driveway and they shoved the perpetrator inside. He was screaming, "NARUTO! NO! NARUTO!"

"Oh my, I would have never thought that Sasuke was a murder!"

"Poor Naruto, he was such a kind boy! How could something like this happen?!"
-

Sasuke sat in a cold room, no windows but only a two way mirror. Three days. Three, whole, long, horrible days he'd been in police custody. In and out of interrogation rooms, in and out of the asylum for his tyrannical breakdowns. Three days he had been without Naruto.

The lights were blindingly white as he waited for the officer to come in and interrogate him, again. His eyes were blood shot and had the largest of black circles beneath them. His wrists were sore and bloodied from where he had frenzied himself into trying to pull out of the confining metal, all of which landed him with a shot in his arm and an ache behind his eyes. The cold of the cuffs on his chaffed wrists were the only things that focused his mind.

He couldn't believe this was happening to him. He couldn't believe that Naruto was…

He couldn't even think it without a sick feeling gathering up in his stomach. Naruto, he was the sun, the moon, the very reason he got up every morning. How could anyone think that he had killed Naruto? He had never loved anyone so much…

The door behind him swung open with a thud on the other wall. "Uchiha Sasuke, you're free to go." Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked behind him. The officer was unlocking his hand cuffs, separating him from the chains that kept him bound to the floor. "We've discovered that our actions against you were…A bit hasty. Especially sending you to the Looney bin so early. We didn't know your hysteria was caused by the accident. But we had reasonable suspicion; it would have definitely fit your M.O."

"Excuse me?" Sasuke sounded skeptical, "and what M.O. would that be? I loved Naruto! I would never hurt him!"

"Well, he did cheat on you, didn't he? A few months back?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry Sasuke, I'm just…I'm confused. I need to figure this out."

"What about me? What about us? I thought you loved me."

Naruto turned towards Sasuke and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be…"

"YOU MADE ME PROMISE I'D NEVER LEAVE YOU! WAS THAT SO YOU COULD LEAVE ME?! AFTER EVERYTHING I'D DONE FOR YOU?!" Sasuke grabbed Naruto roughly by the arm and swung him into the wall behind him. "I gave up everything for us."

"That's what we were told by your brother. But he was also the one who proved your alibi. It was just mentioned in passing…Don't be too angry about it." Sasuke's head was in his hands. His brother was a police officer so of course he was going to let all of Sasuke's personal business out in the open to his co-workers. His brother was his biggest advocate, after all. He was also the only one keeping him out of prison at the moment.

"Naruto and I were separated at the time. He never cheated on me. He only was with Sakura for a couple weeks before he came back to me and we started dating again."

"I was wrong. I was so wrong, Sasuke…She, I, I'm sorry. Please Sasuke, take me back. I'm so sorry." Naruto was an ugly crier, Sasuke thought as he opened his arms.

"Either way, you've been exalted of your crimes because Naruto's death was ruled accidental."

"What's with the change of tune? You all seemed pretty adamant that I had stabbed him…"

"Why did you do it? Why'd you stab him, Uchiha?" The officers were surrounding him on both sides and Sasuke was silent. One of the bigger men slammed his hands down on the table. It was the same one who had barraged him with questions as soon as the mental hospital deemed him fit to be asked. "It'll all be over when you tell us, so again, why did you stab Uzumaki Naruto?"

"I DIDN'T KILL HIM!" Sasuke slammed his hands down and stood up suddenly from his chair. He turned and glared at the officer, eyes shining with anger and hatred. The officer was startled and backed away from the Uchiha. "GET OUT OF MY FACE. I LOVED HIM. I LOVED HIM SO MUCH!"

"Yes, well, I'll be the first to admit that we jumped the gun. We did initially think you had stabbed him and caused him to fall down the stairs, where he suffered the broken neck. But it was shown that the stab wounds were inflicted after post-mortem, by Naruto himself. The position of the blade and the way he landed supported that he had fallen down the stairs with the knife in his hand. He landed on the knife after he broke his neck. And your alibi holding up does add a little benefit in your case." The officer was giving Sasuke a sympathetic look. "That being said, I still need to ask you a few questions." Sasuke nodded, feeling extremely numb as the office opened up what looked like a medical file. "How long had Uzumaki Naruto been living with monophobia?"

Sasuke seemed surprised by the question. "I don't know exactly, since his parents died? He's always had problems with being alone since I've known him. He lived with his foster father until he was twenty and moved in with me afterwards. He seemed adamant about it…I didn't know why until later."

"Sasuke, I'm sorry. I…I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" Naruto looked fearful and he took a deep breath.

"I'm…I'm…I'm afraid of being alone. I've always been afraid. I can't stand being by myself in a house for more than ten minutes before I have a breakdown. That's why…I was so happy when you offered to move me in." Naruto seemed ashamed of himself as he gripped onto Sasuke's hand. "Please, Sasuke, please promise you'll never leave me."

The officer nodded, looking down at the file on the desk.

"Were you aware that Naruto had been seeing a psycho-therapist?"

"Yes," Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "I'd been helping him pay for it. He was trying to gain coping mechanisms for his monophobia because I was going to be traveling soon due to work overseas at my father's company."

"That's not what the therapist said." The officer commented. Sasuke's brows furrowed. "He told us that Naruto had been struggling with an adult-onset of schizophrenia. He wasn't just receiving treatment for his monophobia…I assume that means you were unaware of his condition?"

"I…" Sasuke paused thinking back.

"Sasuke," Naruto's voice was pleading, eyes full of tears as he gripped Sasuke's wrist with ferocity, pulling the Uchiha closer to him. "You have to believe me! There are things in the house. He won't leave me alone until I'm dead! We need to leave, this house is poisonous!"

"It…It would explain a few things." The Uchiha commented in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Like why he had the knife in the first place?" Sasuke shook his head.

"He believed that the house we were staying in was haunted. He was obsessed with it."

The officer nodded. "Well, that house is quite old." He flipped through the file for a brief moment, coughing a little as he turned back to the Uchiha sitting across from him. "Who knows what ghosts of the past live in those walls?"

"Naruto's does now."
-

"Sasuke, my doors are always open to you. I don't think this is best option for you right now." Itachi said as he pulled up to Sasuke's house. The one he shared with Naruto.

"I know, I know. It's just that we didn't fix it up enough to sell it. Just give me a little time and that place will be on the market within the next month." Sasuke muttered as he opened the door to his brother's car.

Itachi grabbed onto Sasuke's wrist and held his brother fully in place. "Sasuke, think about this. It's not healthy to stay here, not after what happened. Especially with your nosy ass neighbors." Both of the Uchiha brothers could see blinds opening and closing, emphasizing Itachi's point. "Just grab some things and come back with me."

"I'll see you later." Sasuke said shaking out of Itachi's grasp.

Itachi sighed and rolled his eyes as the car door slammed and his brother walked up the cement driveway. There was no convincing that boy of anything; an annoying trait he gained from their father.

Sasuke grabbed the doorknob, sighing to himself as he opened the door. It was only a couple months ago that he and Naruto first arrived here, together.

"Jesus Christ, did your Uncle really have to leave you the creepiest house possible?" Naruto muttered as Sasuke fumbled to get the key in the door. Naruto laughed as Sasuke viciously shoved the key into the hole and then started to struggle with turning it in the knob, "Not only creepy, but also hella janky? Great. This is going to be a super fun project."

"Tell me about it." Sasuke chipped in, finally getting the door open. "Let's just think of this as our new beginning. I mean, it's better than our stupid apartment, right? I've been told there's actually room for two people to be in one room at the same time. "

Naruto faked exasperation. "Such luxury you Uchihas live in."

Sasuke wrapped his arm around Naruto's waist and pulled him close. "And maybe tonight, if you're good, we can christen this old house." Naruto giggled as Sasuke hotly blew into his ear.

"You make it hard to be naughty, ."

This house was only supposed to be temporary. They were going to live in it as they fixed it up to save money on commuting back every day between Konoha and Tokyo, not to mention that the house was livable as it was, it was just dirty and needed updates to make it more profitable. They left behind their shitty one bedroom apartment that was way too small for two people, to live in a large house. But that was almost four months ago and they kept putting off the last repairs because Sasuke didn't want to do them; he liked the big house and at first Naruto had liked it too…

Sasuke felt like he had been stabbed in the gut. Every time his mind wander to even a brief glimpse of Naruto, his heart felt like it was being bathed in ice. He waltzed mindlessly through the walkway, his footfalls echoing. It reminded him of how alone he really was. Naruto wasn't here anymore, not to greet him, not tell him how much he missed him…

He made it to the kitchen without realizing and saw the abandoned bags of groceries on the counter.

"You really need to get your car fixed, Sasuke." Itachi muttered as he pulled up to the younger Uchiha's place of residence.

"One issue at a time, please." Sasuke fired back. "I'm working on it; it's in the shop as we speak. Of course, they had to order a part so it's going to be out tomorrow. But I do appreciate your contribution to this army."

"Get out of my car before Naruto gets back. Can't have him having another panic attack now, can we?" Sasuke waved his brother off before grabbing the things he purchased at the store. "Call me tomorrow?"

"Yeah, yeah." He smiled despite himself and Itachi backed out of the driveway. Sasuke walked up to the door and unlocked it. "Naruto? You here?" When Sasuke got silence in return he sighed with relief. He was glad Naruto hadn't come back to find he was gone. He would have flipped his lid, just like he always did. He was really wondering when the therapy was going to finally kick in and help Naruto resolve his fears, but he knew it could be a slow process. Naruto had been living with this for a long time, it could take years to resolve. Sasuke could wait though, he always would. Sasuke walked into the kitchen and placed the groceries on the counter, beginning to sort through them when he noticed that Naruto's keys were on the small marble island. He reached out and took them into his hand. Naruto was here? Then why didn't he answer when he called out to him?

"Naruto?!" Sasuke's voice shook when he called out a second time. Nothing, silence. "NARUTO!" Sasuke was beginning to sweat. Maybe he was upstairs sleeping? Or in the shower? "NARUTO, NARUTO!" He made it into the room adjacent to the kitchen, where a staircase would lead him up to his shared room with Naruto.

That's where he found Naruto. Lying there, in a pool of blood. Naruto's eyes were shocked open as he lay on his chest, one of his hands underneath him. Sasuke noticed right away that Naruto was propped up by something with a black handle. Sasuke slumped down the wall, mouth open. His eyes were fully open as he took in the sight before him. Naruto was…He was…

"AHHHHHHHHH! NARUTOOOO!"

Sasuke opened the cabinet above the oven. It was where they kept all their booze, though to be fair; neither of them really drank that often. It had mostly been house-warming presents that they'd let accumulate. Sasuke grabbed a bottle of whiskey and cracked open the top. No use letting this go to waste.

He took a large gulp and then another and another until his head was swimming and drowning in something other than pain. He rummaged through the cabinets, pulling out everything that was Naruto's. He opened the bottom cabinet next to the stove and noticed it had been filled to the brim with instant ramen, Naruto's absolutely disgusting favorite habitual meal, snack, and everything in between. Sasuke got rid of it all. He grabbed the bottle and walked to the stairs that led to his bedroom. He was like a hurricane, throwing everything out. But Sasuke stopped when his hand rested on Naruto's obnoxious sleeping cap. Something Sasuke hated to the depths of Hell. But when he tried to throw it out with the rest of Naruto's clothes and things, he found that he couldn't. It stilled smelled like him, it was like he was still wearing it.

Sasuke felt a choking sensation in the back of his throat and thought that he was about to cry but that's when the vomit came. He barely made it to the bathroom before the acrid fluids made it into the bowl. He rested his head on the porcelain as he evacuated everything. He should have known this was going to happen. He hadn't eaten in two days and all that activity and moving around no doubt sloshed the contents of his stomach around.

The Uchiha laid there, head in the toilet for a few more seconds before he slowly, sloppily swaggered his way back to the bedroom. He flopped down on the bed and shut his eyes. What was he doing? Just what made any of what he was doing okay? Sasuke shook his head. Nothing he had done was okay. And he couldn't just get rid of Naruto or drink away his sorrow. Sure, it helped put his head in a different place for a little while but what happened when he had to drink more? Or when there was absolutely nothing left to remind Sasuke of what his heart missed most?

Sasuke rolled over onto his back and opened his eyes. "YOU LIED!" Sasuke's stupor was quickly broken by a darkened figure hovering above him. He rolled to the side when the shine of a knife glittered above him. Sasuke's heart was thundering in his ears as he rushed into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind him. He felt sweat beading down his forehead as the adrenaline and panic built more acrid fear in the depths of his gut. Who was that? He hadn't seen their face; he had been moving too quickly out of instinct.

Pounding came on the bathroom door, it sounded like the wood was splitting from the fists being bashed against it. Sasuke was starting to panic as the bashing of wood become more prominent. If whoever was out there got in, what could he do? He didn't have his cell phone, he couldn't call the police. Sure he had neighbors but would they really try to help him if they thought he was a killer? Of course not. And he also had nothing to protect himself with unless he used the top of the toilet.

But just as suddenly as the pounding started, it stopped. Sasuke approached the door and noticed right away that it was no long splitting, no longer splintering, like nothing had ever been pounding on it in the first place. He opened the door, slowly, cautiously setting out back into his room. There was no one. He even searched the bed for a stab wound, there was nothing. Sasuke shook his head…That was impossible. He saw someone there. He was attacked by someone. They had tried to kill him. But all the physical evidence was gone…

Sasuke sat down on the bed and put his face in his hands. Had he just imagined all of that? Maybe he was suffering from alcohol poisoning? Sasuke wasn't sure, all he did know, however, that there was something going on here. Something that Naruto may have been right about all along. Sasuke shook his head. Now that, was impossible. If Naruto was going to a therapist about having a mental disease, especially one that made him hallucinate, then it was obvious he was seeing things. But of course, that didn't explain what was happening now. Only him drinking too much could explain away the delusions, the visions. Hell, when whatever yelled at him, it sounded strangely like…

There was a sudden knock at the door and Sasuke jumped nearly a foot in the air. He got up from the bed, quickly throwing on a new shirt and taking a peak at the clock before he was shocked into ice. It was eight at night…Itachi had dropped him off nearly five hours ago? That was impossible, he remembered, he got here a little after three. There was no way five hours disappears like that…

But Sasuke rationalized it away. He never really could handle his liquor, he easily could have blacked out for a short period and shocked back into his right mind when he had to throw-up…

When the Uchiha got to the front door, he looked through the tiny peephole and frowned. It was Sakura. Why she wouldn't just leave Sasuke to suffer alone, was beyond him. He put on his best, 'I'm not going to kill you one day' faces and opened the door.

"What do you want now, Sakura?"

She meekly put her hand on Sasuke's shoulder and the Uchiha's neutral face took a turn towards anger. This was the woman who tried to ruin his entire relationship. He hated her more than words could properly express. "I came to express my condolences…About Naruto."

"Thanks, now go away." Sasuke tried to slam the door in her face but she pushed all of her weight against it.

"Sasuke, wait, when are you going to forgive me for what I did?"

"When we're both dead."

"Sasuke, I'm sorry, please! I really didn't mean to hurt you."

Sasuke pulled the door back and that forced Sakura to fall forward, crashing to the Uchiha's chest. She looked up and blushed but it was quickly erased by Sasuke grabbing her by the shoulders harshly. "You didn't mean to hurt me? Really? Because the last time I checked, it was because of YOU, that Naruto left me, told me that he didn't love me anymore, and had sex with a person besides me. And it was because of YOU that he came crying back to me and told me how horrible of a person you really are and how sorry he was that he could ever have fallen for you web of lies. Because, let's face it Sakura, you've been in love with me for so long that it blinded you to everyone's feelings but your own, am I right? So you thought, 'oh, hey, if I removed Naruto from the Sasuke and Naruto equation and sleep with him, Sasuke will never want him again and I'll have a better chance with Sasuke', except you didn't count on the fact that I don't sleep with pathetic whores, like YOU."

Sakura's eyes burst with hot, large tears and she pulled away from Sasuke. "Okay, yes, I was being misguided by my emotions for you, I'll admit it. But that doesn't mean you can throw it in my face Sasuke, not when I've come to tell you how sorry I am that you lost Naruto, the only person you'll ever love."

"No, you're not allowed to come here and tell me 'how sorry you are'." Sasuke said the last part in a mocking tone as he stepped out on the front step, looming over Sakura, causing her to back down the walkway. "Do you know why? Because that was three months ago Sakura, and those wounds were and still are very fresh for me. And losing him for real this time is something I will never get over. Don't tell me you're sorry, because if you actually cared about me and my feelings, you would have never taken Naruto from me in the first place."

Sakura started to cry loudly and ran from the property. Sasuke could feel that the alcohol was definitely adding in his voicing of his true feelings. Though, Sasuke felt deep down, he was a little upset with himself for being so cruel to her. She just came by to say she was sorry and he literally ripped her apart. Sasuke shook his head; feeling conflicted about what he had done. He felt that he probably shouldn't have thrown the past back in her face, but just looking at her reminded him that Naruto LEFT him for HER.

"All of this is fucking stupid." Sasuke grumbled under his breath as he headed back upstairs. He supposed in the morning when his temper had cooled, he would call Sakura and apologize for being so rude. But that was all she was getting from him.
-

Sasuke woke with a start, sitting up in the bed, panting and sweating. He had terrible nightmares all night about Naruto and Sakura. Ones that made him mad, ones that made him sick, ones that were just down right crazy. The Uchiha ran his hands through his hair and finally noticed how greasy and disgusting it felt. He hadn't showered since the accident and he could tell that he was really starting to need it. He got out of bed and rubbed his chin, feeling for stubble as he opened the door for the bathroom. It was rare to see an Uchiha with a beard and Sasuke knew that, but he just had to make sure no weird patches of hair decided to grow in while he had been in custody.

He opened the door and flicked on the light switch, noticing right away that there was the heavy smell of pennies littering the air. Why did it smell so thick and…bloody? When the light illuminated the bathroom, Sasuke found out why. He was so shocked by the sight in front of him; he fell backwards, scrambling back into his room, straight against the bed before he stopped and noticed there was no other place to run. If he had been sweating lightly in his sleep, he was sweating for real right now.

Sakura…She…How…?

In the bathroom, in the tub laid the girl who swore she loved him. In the bathroom, in the tub laid the girl swimming in her own blood. Above her was a message sloppily written in blood: "I'M SORRY".

Sasuke was startled by not only that but how did she manage to get in? He made sure all the doors and windows were locked…
-

"Well, looks like you're not having the best of luck this week," Said the officer to Sasuke as he clopped down the stairs from the master bathroom. "The good news is, however, that the coroner doesn't doubt at all that this was suicide. The way she cut her wrists and the shakiness of the lines indicates that this was no doubt her own doing…"

Sasuke stood stunned at the bottom of the stairs as Itachi cut through police lines and into the house. "Sasuke," He called out, "Are you alright?"

"Considering there's a dead woman in my bathroom, no, I'm not fucking alright." Sasuke said. "Naruto was fucking right about this place; it's fucking haunted or cursed or something. "

"Sasuke, Naruto was suffering from a severe mental illness." Itachi said in a calm, precise tone. The younger Uchiha shook his head.

"Then explain everything that just happened!"

"Sasuke, you've known Sakura since you were seven. She's been in love with you since then and from the marks we found outside and the smashed in back window, she finally couldn't take your unrequited love anymore."

Sasuke was frantically shaking his head. "No, no. Why now? Why would she do it here? There was no reason for that. If she was psychotic then she would have killed me too. She could have easily done it; I was sleeping hard enough to not even hear her break in!"

"Come on Sasuke, I'm taking you back to my place. We need the full run of the house for more clues about why she did this." Itachi muttered as a team of forensic experts left the house with the body and came back with huge kits.

"Actually, you can't do that quite yet. Something strange showed up in the Uzumaki file during the autopsy that we need Sasuke for." The other officer commented as he sipped lightly on a coffee in his hand. "Not to mention we haven't even gotten an autopsy back on the Haruno girl."

"You just want a homicide so this house will have a bingo." Itachi replied, narrowing his eyes.

"A bingo?" Sasuke quietly muttered to no one in particular.

"Yeah, a bingo means all four kinds of death happened here: suicide, accidental, homicide, natural causes…You already have two of the four, whether or not you murdered Sakura or Naruto…Murders are the hardest ones to get in situations like this."

"Make it three." Sasuke said with a displeased frown. "Remember, Uncle Madara died in his house of a severe heart attack."

"So close."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and Itachi put his hand on his little brother's back, ushering him out the door into his police cruiser. "Come on, I'll take you down to the station so we can get this all settled. After that Sasuke, you're coming home with me. No ifs or buts about it. I don't want you living in that house anymore."

Sasuke sighed as he got into the car, folding his arms across his chest as Itachi sped off down the road.

They arrived at the station quickly and when Itachi stepped through the doors with Sasuke, a man from behind the counter came around the side and grabbed onto the younger Uchiha's hands. He was a big man, towering over both Sasuke and Itachi with a large, muscled build. His face was calm and a little stern as he looked over Sasuke's hands carefully.

"Can I help you?" Sasuke asked as he pulled out of the man's grasp.

"They don't look big enough…"

"Does this have something to do with the Uzumaki file, Kisame?"

"Yeah…" He moved back behind the counter and made a gesture for the two Uchihas to follow him. Sasuke looked at his brother and when his brother just shrugged, they both starting following Kisame into the cold, quiet, autopsy room. Sasuke looked around and noticed cabinets of bodies, tags and cards were the only things labeling them. The tables were a cold, steel looking material, still damp from being recently cleaned off. The younger Uchiha shuddered. "I needed to get the kid in here to see something before the funeral." Kisame walked over to a cabinet and then glanced back at Itachi. "Do you think he'll freak out if he sees this?"

Itachi looked at Sasuke for a moment, who returned a confused gaze. "No, it should be fine." The older Uchiha replied.

Sasuke didn't quite know what was going on and Itachi must have been quickly cluing in since no introduction to what he was about to see had be uttered between the three of them. Sasuke frowned and then realized, as soon as Kisame started opening the cabinet, why exactly he had been concerned. Sasuke saw the tuft of blond hair and then everything from there got a little fuzzy as the world around him started to fade into the background of his focus. Naruto was lying there, in a drawer of sorts, still, quiet…Dead.

Slowly, silently, Sasuke approached the body. Tears were burning behind his eyes, but he wouldn't allow himself to cry. Not right now. Naruto looked a lot more peaceful here in the morgue than he did in the house, mostly due to the fact that his mouth and eyes were both closed, the wound in his chest had been sewn up, and his neck straightened. Sasuke reached out and gently touched the skin of his lover's cheek. Cold, clammy; nothing there to remind Sasuke of the warmth he once felt from his lover besides the beauty of his face.

"Lemme borrow your hand there sport." Sasuke's internal peace was shattered when Kisame pulled his arm over to Naruto's chest. He pulled back a sheet and there were two hand shaped bruises in his chest. "These, strangely, didn't show up until you were released. I found that very, very strange. Especially since they were inflicted before death…"

Sasuke's hand was placed on the mark and Kisame made a noise in the back of his throat. "What?"

"Just like I thought, your hands are too small."

"What are you saying?"

"Oh, I thought that was obvious. The hand prints indicate that Naruto didn't fall down the stairs by himself. He was pushed. So, Sasuke, Naruto was murdered. But it wasn't by you."
-

"What do you mean Sakura received a call from me? I don't have her number. I never did. Besides, if I called her, why would she have broken in?" Sasuke replied shoving his phone between his shoulder and his ear as he opened up the door to his brother's guest room. When he got inside the room, he put his bag down on the small bed and grasped the phone again. "The only person who would possibly have it would be Naruto, but I don't know where Naruto's phone is. I thought it was with him when they took him in for the autopsy."

Sasuke had a hand on his hip as his shook his head at the officer on the line. Really, all of this was getting completely out of control. If there was any possibility he lured Sakura there to kill her, there would be signs of a struggle everywhere. Sakura was not the kind of person to go out without a fight. "So you did find it on him? Well, I don't know how you think I could call her without that…Well yeah, she did show up at my house earlier that day but I didn't get violent with her…Okay, so what? I yelled at her, I didn't slap her around of assault her…" Sasuke scoffed when he was told more information. "Oh, really? Did her body have any bruises or anything?...I thought not, so your 'eye-witness' isn't very reliable I would say."

Itachi knocked on the door and Sasuke made no verbal signal, Itachi just decided to come in. The older Uchiha watched as his brother rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Well if that's everything I'll bid you goodnight."

Sasuke hung up the phone and sighed. "Police are very annoying when they're stuck." Itachi commented when he saw his brother's frustration. Sasuke nodded as he sat down on the bed, stretching.

"I just wish I wasn't their number one suspect. They have no evidence against me."

Itachi sat down next to Sasuke, "Well since Naruto's case switched from accidental to homicide, they're going to try to change Sakura's too, most likely…But Sasuke, you have to admit, it's a little suspicious."

"Oh god, not you too, Itachi." Sasuke put his face in his hands and shook his head. "I didn't kill them."

"I believe you, but if you didn't kill them, someone else did. Someone who has access to your house and the people you're close to. I want you to stay with me until we get some major leads. I'm the best shot you have at staying safe."

"I get it. I'm not going anywhere."

Sasuke's phone started ringing and he rolled his eyes, thinking the police were calling him again. "Listen I'm sick of you calling. If you don't have any hard evidence against me then don't call me again. If you finally have something, I'll have Itachi take me in personally."

"Readjust your situation little Uchiha. I'm not here to harass you. If you checked the number you would have seen this is not a call from the police." Sasuke froze when he heard the voice. It was vaguely familiar but he couldn't put either a face or a name to the person's voice. It was a man that was all he knew. "Meet me, an hour from now, café on the corner of third and Briar. I'll be sitting alone, black hair, long, gray jacket, and black jeans. Bring Itachi if you don't feel safe. I have answers."

The line went dead and Sasuke pulled the phone away from his ear. The number was block, untraceable. His best lead at the moment was to meet this man…He looked at Itachi who had a questioning look on his face.

"Did they find something?"

"No, no…It wasn't the police." Sasuke paused for a moment as he thought through how he was going to phrase his next sentence without sending his brother off the deep end of worry. "We need to meet someone."
-

"Sasuke, this isn't a good idea." Itachi muttered as they passed Second Street. One block until their destination.

"That's why I brought you." Itachi shook his head and sighed.

When they reached the café it was eerily silent, darkly lit, and very solemn. Itachi opened the door and stepped in, Sasuke following behind. There was no music playing and the strong smell of coffee drowned out other senses while they made their way around.

He was sitting at a table in the back, dressed exactly how he said. His hair was ink black and his features were something only other Uchihas would recognize right away as being kin. Sasuke noticed that this man bore a striking resemblance to himself as he sat down in an empty chair across from the man. Itachi took the seat next to his brother, a frown gracing his features as the mysterious Uchiha placed his cup of coffee back down onto the wooden coaster.

"Well, I'm glad you've decided to come."

"Uncle Izuna…" Itachi muttered. "I never thought I'd see you again."

"Yes, well, drastic times call for drastic measures, I suppose. But of course, as much as I would love to catch up Itachi, I'm not here for you. I'm here to help Sasuke." Izuna averted his eyes from Itachi and smiled at his younger nephew. "And to think that last time I saw you, you were just a small child of five. You've grown so much…Too bad you probably don't really remember me much."

"I have a vague recollection of you." Sasuke commented shrugging. "But like you said, it's been nearly twenty years."

Izuna smoothed the wrinkles in his jacket and placed his hands on the table while saying, "As much as I would love to catch up and see what you've been up to for the last twenty years, I'm not here for that. I've come for a much more sinister purpose, to expose to you the killer who has taken two lives in your new house." Sasuke froze and Itachi's hand was stilled on his thigh, a couple inches and he would have his hand right on his gun. His eyes narrowed as Izuna laughed. "A little quick on the suspicion, don't you think? I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about my late brother."

"Madara?" Itachi questioned, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "Madara has been dead for almost six months, Izuna."

"I'm well aware." Izuna fired back. "But I DID live in that house with him in the year before his death and then for a few weeks after, Itachi. So I know exactly what evil lurks in that house. The last year of Madara's life was one filled with turmoil and betrayal. He lived a life of disgusting leisure and indulgence. His existence was a grease stain on the driveway of the world. Black and difficult to remove completely. And as it were, Madara has left traces of himself in that house."

"Before I get lost, are you trying to tell us that Madara is haunting me?" Sasuke asked, incredulous only because of how much it would actually explain.

"Izuna, don't be such a superstitious moron. There are no such things as ghosts. And when Madara died the only thing he left was furniture."

Izuna's eyes flashed with defiance as he glared Itachi down. "Listen here little brat, I am not crazy and I know exactly what I've seen, what I've heard, what goes in and then comes back out of that house. I lived there after Madara's death in order to get everything perfect so that it would be ready for Sasuke to inherit. But because of what lurked in the shadows, I was never able to finish." Izuna turned towards his younger nephew, "You're probably unaware of my profession, yes? I'm a psycho-therapist, your dead boyfriend's psycho-therapist worked under me. That was how I was able to contact you." Izuna grabbed Sasuke's hand from across the table. "Naruto was not crazy. He didn't have schizophrenia, I sat in on a few of their sessions and I had similar experiences when I lived in that house after Madara's death. Naruto never had delusions, it was all real and even when he was on his medication, and he still saw and heard exactly the same things. I even noticed when he started to fake being better so that he wouldn't have to take the medication anymore."

"Why didn't he ever say any of that to me?"

Izuna paused at that comment and rubbed the space between his eyes. "I really shouldn't be showing you this…I could lose my license. But, I think it's time to uproot the shadow of doubt." He pulled a tape recorder out of his pocket and set it on the table, pressing the play button. It made a clicking noise before a few blank seconds of tape started to play.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Better…I guess."

Sasuke felt his heart thunder in his chest. That was Naruto's voice. It was so clear and crisp it sounded like the blond was sitting down next to him.

"Anything new happen since last week?"

"Well, I guess something new did happen…"

"Did it involve Sasuke?"

"Yes."

"What happened?"

Naruto pulled a towel from the rack and roughly dried his hair with it as soon as he stepped out of the shower. It had been about a week since Sasuke had taken him back and let him move back in and he was thankful Sasuke had never given up on him. Naruto wrapped the towel around his waist as he noticed a bruise on his upper arm, near his shoulder. He started to examine it, taking his focus away his whole body to just the bruise. It was strange, it seemed about hand size, much bigger than his own or Sasuke's hand.

The blond jumped when he felt a pair of strong, firm hands on his waist. "Jesus Sasuke, you scared the shit outta me."

"Where'd you get the bruise?" Sasuke asked as he started to softly kiss the blond's neck.

"Who knows? It looks like a handprint, but it's too big to be yours or mine." Naruto shrugged a little, feeling very relaxed as Sasuke's larger body opened up to engulf him. He leaned his head back and Sasuke brought his head up to give the blond a soft peck on the lips. But Naruto wasn't satisfied with that and pulled Sasuke in for a more aggressive kiss.

"Uncle Izuna I really don't want to hear about Sasuke getting lucky."

"It's not going to stay on this subject very long." Izuna replied as he glanced towards his younger nephew. He was looking pensively at the tape recorder like there was something happening on there that he didn't understand. "What's wrong, Sasuke?"

"I don't remember this happening. I didn't have sex with Naruto for nearly two weeks after he moved back in."

"Which is why we should get back to the story." Izuna pushed play.

"You know, you've been naughty…" Sasuke voice trailed off as he pushed on Naruto's upper back, making the blond catch himself on the counter. The towel was easily removed by Sasuke's nimble hands and Naruto shuddered at the feeling of Sasuke's smooth, warm hands all over his backside. Naruto was panting slightly when Sasuke's spread him. The blond heard an unzipping sound behind him and shuddered again. The Uchiha's larger body moved so that the bulge in his pants was firmly placed against Naruto hole. "Already so wet? How lewd…"

Naruto groaned as Sasuke grinded his cock against his hole. His gasps of pleasure seemed to spark Sasuke on because he was spread wider, teased by the head being slightly, ever so gently pushed inside only to be pulled out before it could all be fit in. It was driving Naruto crazy, he wanted Sasuke to fill him.

"I should have known then that this wasn't Sasuke I was dealing with."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been having sex with Sasuke for nearly five years, been in a relationship with him for nearly six. We don't have sex when he's upset with me. I guess I was just so happy that he was indulging me and forgiving me so quickly that I didn't seem to notice this wasn't his usual routine. I had actually expected him to withhold for another week or two."

"I don't see why this is new development."

"It wasn't just that. There was something else."

"UHH!" Naruto cried out as Sasuke finally fully penetrated him. He whined loudly as Sasuke cruelly started to slam his hips into the counter making Naruto have to push back slightly so he was even more bent over. His nails scrapped against the marble tile of the counter and Sasuke's body bent over him, littering kisses and bites on his back, breathing hotly into Naruto's ear. "Mmm! Fuck, Sasuke. More, give me more."

"Fuck baby, you're so tight."

"Sasuke called you 'baby'? I don't see how that's weird; couples give each other pet-names all the time."

"Sasuke's pet name for me is not 'baby', it's 'Dobe' which, now that I think about it, isn't much of a cute little name, is it? Either way, 'baby' is NOT something Sasuke ever calls me. He never has."

"So? He's trying out a new nickname."

"Lemme finish."

Naruto lifted his head from its flopped over position and looked at Sasuke in the mirror. His eyes shot straight open as he yelped, pulling himself forwards and turning himself around so he could shove the man away from himself. That was not Sasuke. In the mirror he saw something else, a different man. A man with long, spikey black hair. His eyes, his eyes were so cold, so endlessly black. Sasuke frowned as he glared at Naruto.

"What are you doing?"

"Who the fuck are you?!"

"What? Naruto, are you kidding me? It's me, Sasuke." He approached the blond and Naruto backed up onto the counter, separating Sasuke and himself by his leg. He smiled and grabbed onto Naruto's leg, pulling him forward. Naruto cried out as he was pulled onto the floor. "Don't play with me, baby." He crawled onto Naruto and the blond started struggling and shoving the man on top of him.

"Sasuke doesn't call me 'baby'." Naruto finally managed to choke out. "Who are you?!"

He paused, grabbing Naruto's wrists and looking down. "Whore. You're really nothing more than a filthy whore, aren't you? How could you? How could you do it? Break such a beautiful boy's heart? Whores always get what they deserve…" That wasn't Sasuke's voice. It was different, deeper, angry.

The imposter got up and walked into the bedroom adjacent to the bathroom, leaving Naruto sitting there on the floor. Tears burned his eyes as he rolled onto his side, pushing himself up off the floor. He roughly brushed against the doorframe and nearly cried with fear when he saw the man who was in the bathroom standing above the Sasuke, his Sasuke, lying in bed asleep. He raised a single finger to his lips and disappeared.

The recording broke up then as unintelligible sobs became one of the only things that could be heard. Sasuke turned his head away from the tape and bit down his thumb nail. He hated when Naruto's cried and just hearing it made him sick.

"This was recorded about a month before Naruto died." Izuna said as he stopped the tape, cutting off the doctor consoling Naruto. "I had been sitting in on the session because I wanted to start working with Naruto personally, but after hearing that I…" The oldest Uchiha paused as he flipped the tape over in his hand. "The description of the man he saw in the mirror. I know you both thought of Madara…"

Itachi and Sasuke were both silent. The youngest Uchiha looked so sullen and deflated. He didn't know how to process what he had just heard. "Sasuke, it's alright." Itachi tried to comfort his brother but Sasuke shrugged out of Itachi's touch.

"Why would Madara be doing this to me?" Sasuke asked, reaching out and slamming his fist on the table. "I never did anything to make Uncle Madara angry with me!"

"You always were Madara's favorite." Itachi muttered, his eyes having a soft shine of realization. "He's not doing it to you; he's doing it for you…"

"And I know why." Izuna interjected, grabbing both of their attentions. "We all know Madara never could keep it in his pants. Four marriages, several mistresses, and a string of broken hearts later, Madara finally found someone." Izuna gaze shifted to Itachi. "You remember who I'm talking about, right?"

"Senju Hashirama, right? Madara's last fling before he died."

"There was a reason Madara died of a heart attack. Senju broke his heart just like Madara had so many times before. Senju cheated on him and it killed Madara because it wasn't just with a man, it was with a woman." Izuna looked towards Sasuke. "Naruto mentioned in a session that he broke it off with you in order to see a woman, something he later regretted. That was after Madara died, correct?"

"Yes…" Sasuke seemed to reply with a little bit of venom in his tone. "It was about three months ago."

Izuna finished off his coffee and slammed the cup down again. There was a visible crack in the side. "I lived with Madara before he died, after Senju broke him. He was a changed man, so hateful and spiteful. He…I don't even know how to explain it. He wasn't the man I knew." Izuna was silent for a moment. "When love is turned bitter and soiled by affair, hatred grows. Hatred so strong and black that it leaves traces, stains on our world, on our emotions, it seeks out others and allows the pain inside them to grow…"

"Izuna…"

He looked up at Sasuke, who eyes were glassy with unshed tears and worry. "I've had to deal with a lot of occult and religious induced psychosis, so I know a lot about curses, magic, ghosts, and the like." Izuna slowly folding his hand and rested his chin on them. "From all the reading I've done, it sounds like Madara has attached himself to you in life and death. When Naruto broke your heart, Madara's essence in this world grabbed onto your soul and fed on your sorrow so he could manifest himself into a physical form in order to he could 'help' you by ending the source of your sorrow."

"But…What about Sakura?"

"I had been wondering who the second body belonged too. They hadn't officially realized her identity yet…" Izuna muttered. "How did she die?"

"She received a call, apparently from the phone in the house. I never had her number." Sasuke replied, shaking his head. "They say she slit her wrists in the bathtub-"

"In the master bathroom…?" Izuna finished and both of the younger Uchiha's eyes widened.

"How…?"

"Madara…" Izuna laughed a little. "When Senju first broke it off with him, Madara tried to commit suicide in that bathroom. I managed to stop him."

Izuna stood up and ushered the two of them to follow him. When they got outside he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one. "I don't understand Izuna, why is this happening now? Naruto and I were happy again, after a couple weeks of struggling we were right back to where we had been before."

"Naruto was still guilty, it was feeding Madara. Your sorrow alone wasn't enough to give him form. Naruto's guilt and Madara's own rage allowed him to make something of his subtle influence. He probably didn't intend to kill Naruto at first, just torture him a little. But things must have gotten out of control…Or something else happened that we don't know about."

"Like what?" Itachi asked. His tone and raised eyebrow seemed to show his skepticism.

"Was Naruto still talking to Sakura?"

"Not to my knowledge." Sasuke muttered. "And even if he was, I wouldn't know what they would talk about. Naruto was pretty angry with her after he left her."

"I'm aware of that much…" Izuna muttered. "If there was a way to talk to Naruto past this plane of existence, I feel that the key to stopping Madara would reveal itself."

Sasuke paused at Izuna's comment and thought back to when he had been attacked the other night. That voice…It was Naruto's, there was no doubt about it now. Naruto's soul was still trapped in that house and that meant there was a means of contacting him. However, Sasuke bit down on the inside of his lip, he didn't know what exactly brought Naruto's soul out or if it would work if Izuna or Itachi were there. It seemed that Madara favored to haunt Naruto when he was by himself…So would Sasuke have to enter the house alone?

"I think I have an idea, but you can't come with me." Izuna and Itachi shared a brief glance between each other before turning back to Sasuke.
-

The house itself wasn't such a scary building. Sure, it had seen far better days, days where the sun would bake it in the warming glow of the calm, or when the hush of winter soothed everything into a silent white. But right now there was no sun, no snow, only the dark, the wind, and the cold. All the lights inside were extinguished, making the house seem abandoned, silent, devoid of life or love. Sasuke looked up into the window and for a brief second saw a flash pass by the glass. He wondered who the flash had been as he walked up the driveway. If Izuna had never told him what he knew now, if he had never received that call…He wouldn't be walking up the cracked cement to the stained glass and cherry oak door.

Sasuke didn't even bother to pull out the key to unlock the door. He could tell, just from the tone of the night, the atmosphere of the house, Naruto was waiting. The door swung open, the hinges creaking as Sasuke stepped inside the darkness.

"Sasuke, I don't like this idea. That being said, I feel like I cannot stop you either way, so, I'm going to tell you about my own experiences in that house and why I've never returned. It was about a week after Madara died and I was fixing up the house, per his will's request, to give to you. I found that the house was in a state of organized chaos which really made my job a lot easier than I thought. I was probably half-way finished with cleaning up the downstairs when I heard thumping…Like something heavy had just toppled down the stairs. Now, you see, what I knew then compared to what I know now, I would have been far more hesitant about checking out what had fallen. I walked through the kitchen to the adjacent staircase that leads upstairs and I saw what I thought to have been a pile of Madara's old clothes. Now I would have thought that to be strange if I had hadn't cleaned out his closets the night before. I went to pick up the mess and as soon as I bent over, he grabbed me. The clothes weren't just objects; they were alive, and filling. When I saw his eyes, they were so black, all of it was black. I was so stunned I didn't even realize when I got to my car and was struggling to start it that I had run out. It was a day or so later that I learned when Madara had his heart attack; he died on that staircase, and slowly slid down it to the bottom."

His footfalls were silent until he started to climb the staircase, they loudly thundered against the complete and utter lack of noise in the house. Sasuke could feel his heart beating in his ears and felt his lips moving, "Naruto? Are you here?" Sasuke stopped on the top of the stairs and waited for a moment. "Dobe? Where are you?" Sasuke knew that if Naruto was here, he had to reassure him that he wasn't the imposter, that he wasn't Madara. "Dobe? I know you're here! Where are you?"

Sasuke flinched when he heard the creaking of a door. He knew Madara could manifest himself but Izuna never implied whether or not Naruto could, or to what extent. He turned his head and realized it was the door to their bedroom. Sasuke swallowed; sweat starting to form on his forehead. Naruto could be in there, or it could be a trick by Madara. Either way he wouldn't know until he checked it out.

When he got into the room, it was exactly the way he left it. The police had removed the tape and cleaned up the scene in the bathroom, no doubt, but there was still an odd lingering sensation in the air; that something had been left behind. "Naruto?" Sasuke was whispering softly as he stepped gently across the floor. He hoped this wasn't a trick.

Sasuke turned back towards the bedroom door and he nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Naruto's silhouette in the doorway. He was leaning against the doorframe, one of his hands was by his side but the other was pushing against his neck, holding his head up. Sasuke's heart was hammering in his chest as Naruto slowly, ever so slowly, turned to face the Uchiha.

Before Sasuke could move, before Sasuke could even say anything, Naruto was atop him. It was weird thinking that he saw Naruto in the morgue not even a day ago and now the blond was here, sitting on his chest, knees digging into his shoulders, as the blond's nails bit down into his neck.

He looked different. Naruto looked so different. His hair was dull, almost seemingly dirt, greasy, dingy. His eyes weren't the deep blue oceans that Sasuke would get lost in; they had lost their shine. They were cold, made of crystalline ice. His neck was off to the side, his head leaning over at an unnatural angle as the spine, neck connection seemingly jutted up from his skin, stretching and breaking the skin.

Sasuke was gasping but he was barely thrashing. His legs kicked out but he knew it would be no use. This wasn't the first time Naruto had ever strangled him. A week before Sasuke had learned about Naruto's monophobia, the same thing happened. Itachi had to not only pry the blond off, but actually tried to send him to prison for attempted murder. Sasuke, at the point, was going to let him until he found out why Naruto had flown off the deep end.

"YOU FUCKING LIED TO ME! YOU BASTARD!" Suddenly Naruto's grip started to loosen and Sasuke's slowly filled his lungs. Naruto was sobbing on top of him and was starting to fade slowly. "Where did you go?"

"I didn't leave you." Sasuke whispered; his windpipe sore as he coughed out a response. "I only went out because I thought you'd be gone longer."

"You're lying. You're lying to me! You promised you'd never leave me…You're not my Sasuke, my Sasuke doesn't lie."

"Dobe, look at me. You know me."

Naruto put a hand, a very firm, solid hand over Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke gasped as his body was overcome with emotions, memories, everything.

"Hn, what kind of stupid are you?"

"WHAT?!" Naruto's face was flushed as he bristled at the comment. The Uchiha was smirking as he wrapped his arm around the blond's waist.

"I guess it doesn't matter because you'll always be my favorite kind of stupid."
-

"Sasuke, I think I'm ready now." The Uchiha's eyes shined as he looked over at Naruto. He was blushing and rubbing the back of his neck. "I…I love you and I want you to be happy."

"Naruto, its just sex. Even if we never had it, I'd still be happy to spend every second with you." Naruto eyes were wide as Sasuke leaned in and kissed his softly on the forehead. "Besides, the sex will just make it easier to tolerate you."

"You have to ruin everything by being an asshole, don't you?"
-

"Sasuke, do you promise you'll never leave me?"

"For me, only you."

"It really is you…" Naruto was sobbing but the fat, tears never landed on Sasuke's face. They dripped down and fazed through the Uchiha. He removed his hand from Sasuke's eyes. "Where did you go, Sasuke? I've been waiting…"

Naruto looked normal now. His neck, his face, everything. Sasuke leaned up and Naruto weaved his fingers in the Uchiha's raven hair. The kiss was soft, it was sweet. It was what Sasuke had missed the most. Tears burned his eyes as he deepened the kiss with Naruto. "Why did you have to die?" He muttered against the blond's lips.

Naruto was wrenched off of the Uchiha and Sasuke was picked up off the floor by the collar of his shirt. Sasuke's eyes were wide with shock when he took in the face of his departed uncle. He was smiling, holding Sasuke against his cheek. "Oh baby, baby, you're here. I missed you." Sasuke felt a sick, acrid feeling welling up at the pit of his stomach. He shivered as his uncle embraced him. "Oh my little Sasuke, my baby boy." He could feel Madara's lips pucker against his forehead and he couldn't hide the disgust on his face. Madara grabbed onto Sasuke's chin and pulled him, whipping him so quickly that he couldn't help but follow Madara's motion. His face smacked against the wall and blood burst into his mouth. "You, after all I've done for you, you have the nerve to be angry with me?"

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" The lights suddenly flashed on and then the bulbs around the room burst, scattering shards of glass and sparks. Naruto was charging at Madara but the man needn't do nothing more than raise his hand to make Naruto's physical form disappear completely.

"Now that we have some privacy, I can finally speak to you, my pride and joy."

"I thought…" Sasuke was staring into the space where Naruto used to be. He could feel that Naruto was still there but in a muted, intangible form. Something Sasuke couldn't see, couldn't feel…His eyes were welled with tears of anguish as he lashed out at Madara, only succeeding in fazing through him and landing on the floor. "I thought you loved me! I thought you cared about me! I thought you wanted me to be happy…"

"Are you mad because I killed Naruto? Or because I used your voice to lure Sakura here? Are you really angry with me, baby? Because I feel that you aren't. No, no I feel that you're quite relieved to be rid of both of them. "

"Why would I be happy about that? Why? I loved Naruto, he was everything to me! Everything Madara!"

Madara slapped Sasuke so hard across the cheek he could have sworn he heard it crack. The ghostly Uchiha grabbed Sasuke by the arm he held out to defend himself with and pulled him into his chest, hugging tightly. "Sasuke, don't be like this. Everything I do, I do to protect you." He could feel Madara's nose bury in his hair as he was held. It made Sasuke choke up; it reminded him of growing up with Madara.

"Why would you do this?" Sasuke muttered. "You were everything I ever wanted to be, you were the man I always wanted to raise me, the man I wanted to grow into. And here you are now…Why? Madara, why? Naruto and I were happy."

"He was a liar, Sasuke. A liar." Sasuke was sobbing openly now and Madara was hushing him into his chest. "No, no baby, don't cry. I'll show you." Madara's hand touched the back of Sasuke's head and the Uchiha cried out as it felt like Madara was shoving his entire arm into his skull.

Naruto was in the kitchen, sipping on a glass of water as he went through his phone. It was quiet in the house; nearly pitch black outside and where the light didn't shine. Naruto turned so that he was leaning his back against the counter. The blond jumped slightly when he heard knocking against the window. He lifted the blinds and frowned seeing it was Sakura through the glass. He rolled his eyes and made a motion to meet him at the front door. He quietly opened the door.

"This better be important."

"I'm pregnant. I needed to talk to you face to face about this Naruto. I mean this isn't just my fault." Naruto looked at her and seriously considered slamming the door in her face. She was so lucky that Naruto didn't want Sasuke to hear anything.

"Come in. But be quiet, Sasuke is sleeping."
-

"I can't believe you fucking lied to me about being on the pill."

Sakura's head was down as she sat across from the blond, unable to look him in the eye. "I didn't plan for an accident like this Naruto. Do you really think I wanted this to happen? Don't you think I feel bad enough?"

Naruto's face soften a little. "I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't mea-" There was a crashing sound in the distance and both Naruto and Sakura jumped at the sudden noise. "Shit…" The blond got up, Sakura following behind him as he walked through the kitchen. He looked around the corner and saw a figure standing at the top of the stairs. Naruto pulled back, gave Sakura a glare and walked towards the stairs. "Sasuke, what are you doing? You scared me."

"Yeah and you're a lying whore." Naruto's eyes widened as the figured seemingly disappeared into the shadowy region between the doors.
_

Sasuke was panting harshly, feeling absolutely sick to his stomach as he dropped to his knees. Madara still hadn't let go of his arm and he didn't even try to struggle out of his grasp. Sasuke was shaking his head. "Sakura was pregnant? She was…"

"I wanted to tell you." Naruto's voice sounded like it was echoing from behind him. But he couldn't see the blond. "I wanted to tell you so badly. But I didn't want you to hate me…"

"You killed my baby." Sasuke felt a shudder as he turned towards the bathroom door. Dripping echoed in the quiet and his eyes were straining from how wide they were open. "YOU KILLED MY BABY! YOU RUINED MY LIFE!" Sakura was pale, the color of fresh cream. Her eyes were hauntingly bright as she stumbled from the bathroom, slumping down next to Sasuke. "I wanted that baby."

"Sakura, please. It wasn't me."

"And look what you did to me!" She held up her mutilated wrists in Sasuke face, smearing blood onto him in thick, cold drops. "I LOVED YOU!" She tried to grasp onto Sasuke's body but Madara kicked her away, pulling Sasuke around by his arm as he backed up. Naruto slammed his hand against the frame of the door, having the strength again to manifest.

"This has nothing to do with you, Sakura." Naruto was holding his neck so it would be as straight as possible. "BE GONE!"

Sasuke pulled his phone out of his pocket and quickly sent a message that was already pre-written. Madara saw this and grabbed Sasuke by the back of the head, pulling him up off the floor. He grabbed the phone out of Sasuke's hand and growled, pulling even tighter against Sasuke's scalp, causing the Uchiha to cry out loudly. "Sending a cry for help? Tell me Sasuke, how is my dear little brother?"

"Why do you ask me yourself?" Izuna walked into the master bedroom, his eyes narrowed. There was a canister in his hand and Madara was smirking wickedly as Itachi ran in behind him. His eyes widen but Itachi was quick to grasp his composure. "Hello, Madara. You're looking very pale."

"Izuna, my dearest love." Madara's eyes were shining with wickedness. "Always such a delight."

"Itachi, help me!" Sasuke cried as he tried to pull himself free of Madara's grasp. The older Uchiha swore through gritted teeth and slammed Sasuke head on one of the posts of the bed. Izuna and Itachi both tensed, sweat beading on their skin as Sasuke fell lifelessly to the floor. Naruto materialized next to him, putting a tentative hand on the Uchiha's face to see if he was alive.

"You know what's great about Sasuke in a state like that?" Madara vanished and Izuna's entire body tensed up as he moved farther into the room. He pulled a tab off the canister and started to shake the contents of the canister onto the floor, it was salt. He made a circle and grabbed onto Sasuke, attempting to pull the boy in but only got the shock of his life when Sasuke's hand sprung up and grasped onto Izuna's wrist. "It's a little late for that, baby brother." Sasuke's body stood up, wrenching Izuna out of the circle and throwing him into the wall. "Flesh, flesh is good." Madara was laughing as he clenched and unclenched Sasuke's hands. "He was such a vulnerable boy. It was disgusting really, how much we were alike in our moments of sorrow. I couldn't allow him to suffer like I had suffered; I couldn't let him make the same mistakes I did." Madara curled over for a second and then straightened out, a small trail of blood coming from Sasuke's mouth. He glanced over at Naruto who was nearing him. "Oh, baby, don't tempt me. I will break Sasuke's soul, do you want that? Do you want him to know what I've done in his tomb of flesh?"

Naruto was silent as he glanced to Itachi, who was helping Izuna sit up. The blond held up his free hand and that cause Sasuke's body to start crumbling in on itself, making him fall onto his knees. The veins in Sasuke's face started to erupt from under his skin and his eyes roll back in his head as he let out a wicked scream. His back was arched as his mouth stayed open; a gaseous, black substance started pouring out, spiraling and congealing into muck, dripping onto the floor. Naruto's hand was shaking and before long the blond pulled back like he had been shocked. Sasuke straightened up, the cloud receding back.

"I'm attached to his soul, Naruto. There's no way to force me out." Madara said as he made Sasuke stand again. "You know, I kind of like this body. It's nice, strong. Perfect for me. I think I'll keep it. I'll finally be able to leave this cursed house...I think it would be a good idea to show him the truth, don't you think? Yeah, I'm going to show him."

"No, please." Naruto's eyes were widening. "Please, don't show him."

Izuna managed to get back on his feet. "You've evolved from a simple ghost, you're not just a random entity…you're a demon now. I should have known…"

"Why, Izuna, you shouldn't look so troubled. You should be happy. You're not only keeping a nephew, you're getting your brother back." Itachi shuddered. He didn't like hearing Madara's voice coming from Sasuke's mouth, or seeing the dark, deadness of the blackness in his little brother's eyes.

Sasuke's voice suddenly sprung from his own mouth as he fell to the floor, digging his fingers into his scalp, ripping patches of his hair from the roots as he curled himself into the fetal position, screaming and writhing. Naruto's eyes widened and he dropped down next to Sasuke and started to whine and cry and scream too as he grabbed onto the Uchiha hand. "Madara please, Madara, stop!"

"What's going on?" Itachi asked, back pacing so he was against the wall.

"Madara's showing him the truth about my death."

"What truth?"

"Sasuke killed me."

"Sasuke, I'm back!" Naruto called as he walked through the archway, setting his bag down by the door and taking off his shoes. He walked into the living room and all of the lights were off and it was eerily quiet. Naruto felt panic welling up in the bottom of his stomach. Sasuke said he would be here when get got back. He promised. He promised he would be here. Naruto took a deep shaky breath; thinking now would be a good time to try out someone of the coping mechanisms his doctor had been telling him to try out. Naruto walked into the kitchen and tried to focus his mind on something else.

Naruto found it increasingly difficult to keep himself calm. He leaned over the sink and vomited, hands shaking as he turned on the facet to wash it down. He shook his head as tears started to build up in his eyes. He was scared, Naruto was so scared. He knew this fear he harbored in his heart was built on nothing solid, but he felt it anyway. He stood in the kitchen, trying to regain his composure. He was hyperventilating, extremely close to huddling up on the floor and cradling his knees into his chest.

A distant thumping broke Naruto out of his hyperventilation and caused him to focus his mind on the sound. It sounded like someone smacking something against the wall upstairs and he wondered if Sasuke could be up there. Just because Sasuke didn't reply, didn't mean he wasn't here. Naruto knew, deep down, there was a chance of Sasuke being here the whole time, but it was strange to think that he didn't make sure Naruto was aware of his presence. Which meant…That…It could be the imposter Sasuke waiting upstairs. Naruto swallowed hard and opened a drawer, finding a very large kitchen knife. He didn't know what good it would do, but it made him just feel safer.

Slowly, Naruto started up the stairs, noticing that the thumping sound was getting louder. He could hear the distinct murmur of voices between the thumps and was starting to feel the hair on his arms stand up on edge. It sounded exactly like Sasuke's voice coming from their bedroom. Naruto quietly moved across the floor, trying his best to get to the door without making alarming noises. The muttering was getting louder and the thudding more frequent.

Naruto reached for the door knob and opened the door. Sasuke was standing in the corner of the room by the headboard of the bed was and he was leaning with one arm against the wall so he could just jerk his head forward to smack it.

"He lied to you." Thud.

"Don't let him make a fool of you." Thud.

"Be a man, Sasuke. I know you're scared." Thud.

"Whores don't deserve to live." Thud.

Naruto couldn't hold the whimper in his throat and when he let it out, Sasuke immediately stopped, causing Naruto to slap a hand over his mouth and slowly start to back out of the room. Tears were already building up in his eyes as he stared at Sasuke's figure.

"Where you think you're going, Naruto?" Naruto couldn't hold back his scream as he threw open the door and skittered out into the hallway. He tripped on a rug that was lying on the floor and flew into the wall, causing the knife in his hand to stick into the plaster. He felt a hand grab his wrist and help him pull the knife out, there was an arm wrapped around his waist. The knife pointed up and against Naruto's throat as he openly sobbed, trying to struggle free of the strong grasp. "Got Sakura pregnant, huh? Thought I'd never find out, did you?"

Sasuke moved so that he had a fist full of Naruto's hair, tugging his head back so farther and farther to expose his knife to even more of the blade. "Sasuke, please. I'm sorry. I didn't know until a week ago that she was pregnant. Please, Sasuke, you promised."

"Promised? I promised? I loved you, you know that right? I loved you so much. You're killing me. All the lies are killing me." Sasuke said the last part in a soft, sing-song voice as he lead Naruto around by the hair.

"Sasuke, please. I love you. I do. I love you, you're my everything."

"SASUKE'S SNAPPED! SASUKE'S SNAPPED!" The Uchiha was laughing in a crazed manner as he swung Naruto around, as though he was leading him in a dance. Naruto was looking into his eyes, trying to find anything there that would give him any hope at all. But he saw it then; the sheer darkness engulfing Sasuke's eyes and Naruto knew that he had lost his lover in the shadows.

"You're not Sasuke…" Naruto muttered and then yelped when he was pulled along by the back of his head, nailing digging into his scalp.

"You know it's true. Sasuke and I are separate entities…During the day, but at night, when he's asleep he's really honest with himself, you know? His nightmares, they're so heart wrenchingly sad and you know who causes them? You. You're just a whore, I'm sorry that'll never change. And as long as I can influence this world, I'm going to keep my precious baby safe." Sasuke started to drag Naruto back through the hallway. "You're really only making his harder on yourself, honey. Sasuke wants this, he just can't say it. He's mad at you, you know. You've done such a number on him that I can take form in his body. His anger is just ripe for the plucking!"

Naruto wrenched his arm free of Sasuke's grasp and slashed him across the chest with the knife, not wanting to hurt his Sasuke, but trying to slow him down so that he could escape. It tore a hole across the fabric and the possessed Sasuke just started laughing as he reached down to drag a finger across the hair thin line of broken skin. The blond didn't know where he could run so that he could be safe; he didn't know how to break Sasuke free of this possession. He changed the position of the blade in his hand and ran towards the stairs, making Sasuke burst with laughter as he gave chase.

The blond managed to make it to the top of the stairs and turned back to see where Sasuke was. Before he could stop him, or even begin to think he could defend himself, Naruto felt two hands on his chest. Sasuke's face had changed to the one he had seen in the mirror that night. He was smirking wickedly as Naruto lost his balance and fell backwards. He landed on his head and as his body followed down behind him, twisted and cracked his neck killing the scream of terror in his throat. The knife flew out of his hand and landed at the bottom of the stairs, Naruto sliding down the last few stairs to meet it. His eyes were wide open and his mouth agape as Sasuke slowly walked down the stairs behind all of the commotion, memorizing the position in which Naruto's body laid. He grabbed the knife, rolling Naruto slightly onto his side.

Sasuke's phone started ringing and Madara used Sasuke's mouth to contract into the perfect smirk as he answered. "Hey Itachi, I'm glad you called back. I didn't know if I was going to be able to get a chance to do this before Naruto got home." Sasuke embedded the knife into Naruto's chest, right into his heart, making sure the blond was good and dead. "We have about an hour or so before he gets home so we gotta make this quick." Madara was working Sasuke mind, making him remember only what he wanted Sasuke to remember as he started to remove his shirt, cleaning the blood from his hands on it. The material burst into a strange black flame as Sasuke headed back upstairs to changed. "Okay I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Madara used Sasuke's body to kill me because he couldn't do it by himself. He needed flesh." Naruto was looking down at the cracked and broken expression on Sasuke's face. This was the real Sasuke shining through. Naruto backed away from his body as Sasuke sat up, completely silent.

"Sasuke's flesh was always meant to be mine." Madara said. "It was only a matter of time before I got it and could wear it." He stood up, brushing hair out of his face. "And with a few adjustments, I'll be right where I should be. And you, Naruto, will be stuck in this house, all alone, for the rest of eternity."

"I don't blame you, Sasuke, for my death." Naruto said in a soft voice. He was looking solemn and shook his head. "I deserved all of this for what I did to you. I squandered your love and greedily came right back to you, begging for you forgiveness when I should have the very stars to spell my apology out in the sky."

Madara was jerking around as Naruto was talking. He was sweating and cursing as Naruto looked at him. "I love you, Sasuke. And I know you would never hurt me and that my death was no your fault. I know we were angry with me, that you thought, even if it was deep down that I should be punished for what I had done…And I agree with you."

"What are you doing?!" Madara was holding onto his stomach as he fell to his knees. "Stop reaching out to him! Sasuke is dead!"

"Sasuke isn't dead." Naruto muttered, his eyes slowly narrowing for a glare. "I can feel him. His influence was subtle. You didn't fully break him. He's in there somewhere and I won't stop until I can see him again. So come to me, Sasuke. Forgive me, Sasuke. I love you."

"STOP!" The entire house shook from the sheer power Madara was releasing at that moment. Sasuke's hand shot out, trying to reach out to Naruto, trying to have the blond release him from Madara's hold, but Madara grabbed onto his hand, gripping two of Sasuke's fingers and callously breaking both. A small scream erupted from his lips as he did that and Naruto knew it was Sasuke who was suffering inside. Naruto, didn't waver though. Izuna and Itachi both had to huddle together to protect themselves from Madara's heavy influence. He arched, his back scraping against the floor. He was rolling and jerking around screaming, "NO, SASUKE! YOU'RE DEAD! REMEMBER WHAT HE DID TO YOU!"

"NOT ANYMORE!" Sasuke stood up suddenly, seeming to not being in control of his actions. He was holding onto his head and thrashing around the room. It was more than apparent he and Madara were grappling for control. Sasuke slammed back into the wall and started to smack his head repeatedly into it screaming, "GET OUT OF MY HEAD! GET OUT!"

He turned on his heel and made a B-line for the window, unable to stop himself from smashing into it and then falling out of it. Izuna and Itachi rushed to the window, looking out to see that Sasuke had landed on the rotted gazebo. He rolled to the side, coughing and moaning as he tried to stand up. He was grabbed by the back of his head and yanked to his feet. Sasuke cried out when weight was put on his right leg and he knew then it was broken.

"You couldn't just let me win, Sasuke? I would have made us so happy."

"You tried to kill me. You tried to bury me." Sasuke was whining as Madara pulled harder on his hair. "I won't let you win. If I die here, I'm taking you with me."

Madara kicked in the back of Sasuke's right leg and the Uchiha let out of blood curdling scream of pain as Madara released him back into the pile of wood. Sasuke was crying out and holding his leg as he tried to drag himself away. "There's only problem with that. I'm already dead. You can't hurt me anymore." Sasuke slowly reached out and grabbed a nail, one that looked pretty sharp still. He clutched it in his hand as Madara approached him. "Let go Sasuke, let me have your body. You can't get rid of me. I'm attached to your soul."

"Good." Sasuke turned and stabbed the nail into his neck, pulling it down so that it cut across the entire expanse of his milky white flesh. Hot crimson red burst from the cut and shot out onto the rotten wood, steaming in the cool night air. Madara was screaming as his neck also burst with blood. He was holding onto it and glaring at Sasuke as the Uchiha slowly closed his eyes and laid his head down. Madara's body started to crack, black ooze dripping through the cracks. He tried to shove the ooze back inside himself but it was no use. His body was starting to disintegrate, vanishing on the wind.

Izuna and Itachi rounded the corner as the last bits of Madara vanished, his screams of anguish dying on the wind. Itachi knelt down next to Sasuke, hands shaking as he checked him for a pulse. The Uchiha didn't want to admit that he already knew Sasuke was dead just from the sheer amount of blood coming from his neck. Itachi bit back his tears as his shaky hands poked Sasuke's forehead, for the last time.

Naruto's shade came to where Sasuke lay and he knelt down beside him. "I'm sorry Sasuke. I love you."

"I love you too." Naruto turned his head and saw Sasuke's own shade standing behind him. His hand was over his neck, concealing all the blood, but the other was being held out to the blond. When Naruto grabbed onto it, their fingers intertwined and both of them looked exactly like when they were alive. Sasuke leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Naruto's lips. Both of their bodies started to fade in a soft, shimmering golden light.
-

"So, what happened here?" Izuna and Itachi were sitting on the curb, both being looked over by a paramedic. "Did Sasuke do this?"

"No," Itachi commented. "Sasuke committed suicide by cutting open his own throat."

"But the third story window is completely smashed open! It looks like he was thrown out of it." The officer said, glancing back to the house. "And it doesn't explain why either of you are injured!"

Itachi got up, helping Izuna to his feet. He reached into his pocket pulling out his badge and then removed his gun and holster, handing it to the officer. "I quit."

Itachi knew that they wouldn't believe the truth anyway and that was the only kind of comment they were going to get out of Itachi. There was no way to explain all of this away. The Uchiha turned back to look at the house, feeling the lack of presences within. It was nothing more than an empty shell now.

"You're the new owner of that house, Itachi." Izuna commented. "What are you going to do with it?"

Itachi looked back at his uncle as he opened the door to his car. "Is it obvious by now?" He commented as Izuna struggled a little to sit down in the passenger seat. "I don't feel anything in there anymore." Izuna nodded. "So, I'm going to tear it down."

"That's probably for the best."
-

Happy Halloween people :D