Me: My second story. Sasuke is in this one. It's a scary story. Ooooooh.

Sasuke: Oh joy.

'blah' Sasuke thinking

"blah" person speaking

"blah" ghost speaking

Unpaid Debts

Uchiha Sasuke had just finished off Orochimaru and was on his way to gather members for team Hebi. He was wandering along a forest path innocently minding his own business when he was attacked.

'Ambush!' He thought drawing his sword.

"Too slow!" A voice snarled in his ear.

Slash. Blood spurted from a cut in his shoulder. 'Okay, that was unnecessary.' He glared at the man, sharingan forming in his eyes.

"U-uchiha!" The man stuttered, evidently shocked.

'Well, no shit, Sherlock.' Sasuke thought sarcastically.

The man hesitated, then bolted. Sasuke stood there for a moment, unsure if the man was gone. He was.

"Hn."

He sheathed his sword, and checked the wound on his shoulder. It wasn't that bad, though he would probably need stitches later. Deciding he was no medic ninja, he merely wrapped it in bandages and hoped the bleeding stopped soon.

'Better have Karin look at that later… Oh joy.'

It had started to rain. Hard. More like storming, really.

'Great, now I'm bleeding and it's raining.'

He sighed and looked for something he use for shelter since he could now see lightning in the distance. There was a large cave in the rock wall on his left.

'Hmm… That was convenient.'

(Plot no jutsu!)

He glanced inside, there seemed to be a large amount of steam escaping the cave. There was a stream of hot water leaking out of the rocks, running down to form a large pool that filled the majority of the cave.

'A hot spring…?' He stared.

'That was… Also convenient.'

(Plot no jutsu!)

It was getting colder, the rain became sleet. Soon it would be hail. Sasuke winced, and hurried inside. 'Hmm… Should I, should I not?' The eternal human mental debate. Sasuke stripped, then slipped into the water. He had to admit it was a hell of a lot more comfortable than standing there shivering in the cold like an idiot. He sat down on a rock ledge that jutted out underneath the water. He looked outside. Against the night sky the lightning looked blue like chidori. Sasuke yawned and leaned back against the rock wall. He was starting to get sleepy. He closed his eyes.

Sliding his foot across the sandy floor he could feel large smooth rock. The sand around it was soft and sort of muddy. His foot sank under it easily. The sand was warm too.

'Hmm…'

Sasuke suddenly felt uneasy. He opened eyes and looked around. He saw nothing and yet felt a strange presence. He activated his sharingan, then jerked back in shock. There was a man standing on the rock next to him. He looked strangely skeletal, as if he hadn't eaten a decent meal in weeks. His face, like a skull, was only inches from Sasuke's. Sasuke glared at the man. Or was it a man? He seemed to have no chakra, as if he wasn't even there. And what sort of human was invisible to unaided sight? The man seemed to be curious as to what, or who he was. Then he seemed to be angry.

"Get out. Get out of the water."

"Why should I? You don't own it."

"Fool! You will die if you do not leave."

"Are you threatening me?"

The man glared at him. "It's your funeral, kid."

Sasuke stared at him suspiciously. "Who are you anyway? And what business is it of yours?"

The man stared at him. "You really don't know? I'm a ghost you fool! I died so many years ago I no longer remember my name."

Sasuke stared at him, blankly. 'A ghost? You seriously expect me to believe that?'

The man looked away. "And if you must know a member of the Uchiha clan once saved my life. I always repay my debts."

Sasuke raised one eyebrow. "By doing what, exactly?"

"By saving your life, idiot! Haven't I already said that?"

Whether it was being called an idiot or whether he actually believed him, Sasuke didn't know, but he decided it was time to get out. He stood up and tried to step out. Tried being the effective word. He couldn't move. His feet were stuck in the sand. He tried wrenching them out. No such luck. He glared at the man.

"Why can't I move?"

"Because the floor is quicksand you fool! Didn't I warn you? I told you, you would die if you didn't get out. Feel that rock under your left foot? That's my skull. I died here many years ago. And now you will join me!"

The man vanished into thin air. Sasuke panicked. He tried wrenching his feet free again. And again no such luck. He was now in halfway up to his knees. The water was already above his waist. If he didn't get out now he would drown. He grabbed a ledge on the rock wall and pulled. Slowly, ever so slowly he worked his way free. The ledge broke. He gritted his furiously, focused chakra into his hands, and tried again. This time, gripping the wall itself, there was nothing to break, and he pulled himself out. Dripping wet, his feet caked in the sticky sand, he shivered. It was now colder than ever. He pulled his clothes on and hid behind a rock. At least here the wind wouldn't touch him. He leaned against the rock and sighed. 'What a day.' He felt something under his hand. Looking down he realized he'd found the man's clothes.

'Ew. Their decayed. And they stink. Gross.'

Sasuke decided to find a different rock to hide behind. Climbing out from behind the rock, he saw the man again, this time sitting calmly, cross-legged in the middle of the cave. He glared at the man.

"Now what do you want?"

"Ungrateful little brat, aren't you? I saved your life, and now I want you to do something for me."

"You said you were repaying your own debt."

The man chuckled. "Indeed I was. But that debt was to the Uchiha clan as a whole. This debt is something you owe me personally."

Sasuke snorted. "Fine, whatever. What do you want? As a ghost I really don't think there's much you need."

The man grinned. "I want a proper burial."

"But your skeleton's under the quicksand!" Sasuke protested. "How do you expect me to get it out? I'm not earth natured, nor water natured. Even for a ninja this is impossible."

The man laughed. "Relax, kid. You can just bury my clothes. They were starting to stink up the place, anyway." He laughed and disappeared again.

"Great." Sasuke sighed.

He sat down and leaned against the rock wall to wait for the storm to blow over. When the rain finally stopped he grabbed the clothes, went outside and started to dig. He dug about three feet down, then stopped. He decided that was far enough since he wasn't burying a body. He unceremoniously dumped the clothes in the hole then covered them up with dirt. He was just going to walk away, but he stopped. He looked at the ground. It was obvious something had been buried there, but that would change given time. There was no other obvious markings. He sighed and drew his sword. With the tip he carved a small cross onto a nearby rock.

"There." He muttered. "Happy?"

He turned to walk away. The man was standing there in front of him again, but this time he no longer looked skeletal. He looked like a normal human being, and he was visible without sharingan.

"Arigato." He smiled, then disappeared for the final time.

"Yeah, whatever." Sasuke muttered, and went on his way.

Uchiha Sasuke - Masashi Kishimoto

Unnamed Ghost - ME

Random Ninja Asshole n. 1 - ME

Plot - ME