"Why is the instructor late again?" Sakura complained as she looked bleakly at her surroundings, " and why did he ask to see us in a graveyard?" Naruto shivered. He didn't like it, even if it was broad daylight.
"Good Morning!" Kakashi stated happily perched on the entrance to the cemetery.
"It's afternoon," grumbled Susake, " what excuse do you have this time?" Kakashi smiled behind his mask.
"Oh I just overslept that's all"
WHAT!" screamed Naruto, "you had us get here at six in the morning and you can't even come up with a decent excuse!"
" Nah. I've used all my good ones up all ready." The three ninjas scowled. " Are you ready for today's lesson?" Kakashi hopped off the wall and walked up to his students.
"Does anyone know what's so important about this place?"
"That it's cold?" Naruto asked. Sakura looked around, then turned to her instructor.
"This is the Shinobi graveyard isn't it? Where all the past ninjas are buried." Kakashi smiled again, she was definitely the brains of the group.
"Correct, but incorrect at the same time. Here for miles you can see the markers for every ninja that has died while in service. However, there is not one body buried in these grounds. As we've discussed before about the disposal of a ninja's corpse. I have a mission for you today. I want you to find a headstone here and give me the history of that ninja, without leaving the graveyard."
"WHAT!" Naruto yelled, " not only is this some stupid history lesson, we have to find someone important!" Kakashi grinned.
"That's not what I said. Find it or your not getting lunch. Again." With that the high ninja vanished.
"This is so dumb!" Naruto complained as his stomach growled. He had been searching for a headstone for hours, and all he could find were ones with only the names craved into the stone. That's when he first saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He looked to see a figure standing silently over one of the graves.
"Hello!" he called out and walked over to the person, which turned to his greeting. Naruto froze dead in his tracks. The mourner was a woman just shy of kakshi's height with jet-black hair cropped around her jaw line. She looked at him with two different colored eyes. Not those of the Sharingan, but one an ice blue, the other dark brown, eyes like the wolves. The young ninja's heart stopped as he gasped. She was beautiful. She wore a tight black shinobi outfit; Naruto noted the band tied around her thigh. She smiled softly at him.
"Good day to you child, what brings one like yourself to such a dismal place?" she asked as he started to approach her again.
"I'm training hard to become the greatest ninja!" he boasted. She laughed sweetly at this.
"In a graveyard? It seems like an odd place for a training ground…but to each his own I suppose…" she trailed off.
"Well, it's my stupid instructor's fault. He wants us to do some stupid history lesson…" Naruto grumbled kicking a stone on the ground. The ninja bent down to look him in the eyes.
"I would be careful what you say here. The spirits of fallen ninjas do not like to be made fun of." She whispered in an eerie voice. Naruto looked helplessly into her eyes. The blue one had a strange symbol that almost seemed to move.
" But why would the spirits be here? Instructor said that there were no bodies buried here." The woman stood upright again and looked off into the distance. She nodded.
"Each of these markers were constructed so that the spirit would be able to find his way back, since his body had been destroyed. Many souls walk these graves, for many ninjas die with an unfinished task." Naruto swallowed hard and scanned the area.
"But ghosts don't come out during the day, right?" he asked. The woman smiled again calming his fear, but what she said next sent a new chill down his spine.
"Those," she said in a sorrow tone, "are the ones you must be most afraid of. The shadows of the day are the spirits that most despise the living, for they have to walk among them. They have to observe all the things the living can do that they cannot. It slowly consumes them, and each day their hatred grows, each day they become more and more dangerous to the living." Naruto's eyes grew wide. All the color drained from his face.
"Why?" he asked in a hoarse voice, "why do they walk during the day?" She looked back at the marker she stood at.
"For they were once powerful ninjas, and their Chakra tied to the earth, some don't even know they're dead." She said quietly, " They wander through the day some seen, some not. Trying effortlessly to find what forever holds their Chakra to this world. The thing that keeps them from peace." Naruto looked at the marker.
" That's sad…they must be so lonely." A look of pain entered the woman's eyes.
"A loneliness few can comprehend." She said and looked back at him, " though, I have a feeling you can understand it as well as I." The young ninja looked at her again happy to see her face light once again with a soft smile. "Who is your instructor young one?"
" Instructor Hatake Kakashi!" he said proudly, glad to be off the subject. The woman's face contorted for a spilt second to one of pain then was back smiling again.
"Kakashi, hmm. That makes sense then." She said. "Have you accomplished your mission?" Naruto shook his head.
"No! I can't find a single one with writing on it!" he said angrily.
"That's because you're not looking hard enough!" she laughed, Naruto looked at her baffled. "Here I'll show you, this one should do, out your hand on the marker and think of the name inscribed upon it." Naruto did as he was told. " Now release a small amount of your charka into your hand and close your eyes." As he did this images filled his head. Words of the ninja and all the deeds ever accomplished, information to large to ever fit on a headstone. He opened eyes after it was finished.
"That's amazing!" he said turned to the girl. She smiled. "But who is she?"
"My…sister. Kakashi will be impressed, to say the least. For he once knew the girl."
"Wow! Thank you! I would have never gotten that on my own! Now I can eat lunch!" Naruto started to run off then spun around.
"Wait what was your….name?" He looked around to find her nowhere. "Someday I'll be able to do that just like Kakashi and she can." He said to himself and ran back to the others.