Story: Ghost of You

Author: MizukiYukiko

Rated: T

Pairing: ItachiXSakura

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Naruto, or The Ghost of You by My Chemical Romance.

Warning: There are mentions of murder and violent death of a young person. If you are sensitive to this topic, please take head of this warning. Thank you.

Summary: There was one rule in the world of the spirits that no spirit could ignore. On the day of your death, you had to return to the place where you spent your last breath. But that doesn't mean you have to spend it alone.

Notes: 50_shinobi themed challenge #49. Curtain call (the final act). Modern AU and featuring ghost!Itachi and ghost!Sakura. It's something a little more morbid than what I usually write, but it's also supposed to be hopeful. I hope you all see that. Thanks for reading, and please, tell me what you think. I'm jumping out of my comfort zone here.

Ghost of You

"I never said I'd lie and wait forever
If I died, we'd be together
I can't always just forget her
But she could try"
- My Chemical Romance

The cool autumn air was rustling the yellowing leaves on the trees, not that he could tell the difference. The snug coats tucked around the others in his area told him that the temperature was dropping in Tokyo; the weather meant nothing to him anymore. He was walking around a small park that he and Sasuke used to play at when he got the call. It began as a soft whisper.

Nii-san.

Itachi sighed and closed his eyes, trying to determine if Sasuke was just having a passing thought, or if he was truly calling him, albeit unintentionally. The whisper came again (Nii-san) and Itachi focused on it, zeroing in on where Sasuke was. The pull of his brother's call was enough to snap his spirit to Sasuke. Itachi was in a familiar place suddenly – his grave.

Uchiha Itachi
Loving son, brother, and friend
June 9, 1991-August 12, 2009

His headstone was clean, as it always was. One of his family members always came once a month and made sure fresh flowers were placed on top of his plain gravestone. It was bland, the granite standing about half a meter tall with plain scripted kanji running down it. Incense was burning in a small ceramic holder and fresh flowers were sitting near it.

Sasuke was kneeling in front of his grave today, running his broad hands over the smooth script of his name a little forlornly. His brother was eighteen now – the same age Itachi had been when he'd died.

It was odd seeing his younger brother so old. The last memory Itachi had of his otouto was faded and included sniping words at a breakfast table; his preteen brother was always sullen and had an attitude problem. His father had intervened and a small debate had ensued. It had been a small, trivial fight, but Itachi had been able to feel his younger brother's guilt after his death.

He'd been on his motorcycle on his way to school. A bus came out of nowhere. Despite the helmet, he had died instantly.

He was one of the lucky ones, he had learned not long after; his spirit wasn't angry, and he was mostly at peace with his death. He spent his days wandering about the city and watching over his family, namely Sasuke.

Itachi waited for his younger brother to speak. Sasuke had called him for a reason, although his younger sibling was unaware that he had called his aniki in the first place. Itachi leaned against his headstone and watch his younger brother finish lighting the incense he had brought for his honor. Sasuke said a quiet prayer that Itachi barely cared to register and then stood up from his grave.

"It's the one year anniversary of Sakura's death, aniki," Sasuke sighed.

Ah, that was right. Itachi had nearly forgotten that Sasuke's childhood friend had been murdered. He remembered being called to Sasuke suddenly. His brother was in near-tears while his blond-haired companion sobbed over the loss of the pinkette. Sasuke had been drowned in the pain of losing his brother and then one of his good friends, and the grief had pulled Itachi to him. He didn't even think that Sasuke had been that upset over his death, but that was understandable.

While silently watching Sasuke grow up in the shadows of his life, Itachi had watched his friends grow up as well. The young Sakura had turned into a bright, charming young lady. Her death was much more of a disservice to the world than his had been; at least he thought so.

But once again, Itachi held no feelings of malice during his death. The spirits that hold anger in their hearts and souls when they die are ugly, violent, and angry. Itachi tried to stay away from them.

Sasuke was silent for a long moment. That's when Itachi noticed the extra flowers and incense that his brother had brought; he must be visiting his friend's grave after this.

"I guess, nii-san, if you can hear me…" Sasuke trailed off and ran a rough hand through his hair, "Just check up on her, okay? Make sure she's alright… she must be scared and alone, today especially. She was always dependent and smiling and trusting, and I was always there to protect her. I can't be there, now, though, so could you? Nii-san?"

Itachi watched his brother say another quiet prayer and pick up the other bouquet of flowers he'd bought and pad off in the other direction. For a long few moments, Itachi stood there and tried to recollect what he could remember of the young girl's death.

Although he didn't need to do what his brother had asked of him, he would. No matter what, Itachi would always be loyal to his younger brother, and this was obviously something that meant a lot to him. However, Itachi was filled with some trepidation. Sakura, if he remembered correctly, had been murdered. Violent deaths often lead to malicious souls.

But he knew where to find her, and he would at least do what his brother asked. He would check on the young spirit and see how she was faring in this world.

Trying to remember the details of her murder, Itachi followed Sasuke in hope for clues. Unsurprisingly, Sakura was buried in the same cemetery that he had been. The girl had been neighbors to the Uchihas, and this was the closest and largest cemetery to their homes. Her grave was filled with flowers since it was the anniversary of her death.

Sasuke was kneeling in front of the small white grave.

Haruno Sakura
Loving daughter and friend
May her soul find peace
March 28, 1996-October 30, 2013

When Sasuke finished his prayer, Itachi fished into his mind a bit, trying to search his younger brother's thoughts and feelings for his friend. There was an intense amount of love – not in the romantic sense, but a strong feeling of camaraderie and companionship. There was grief and guilt because Sasuke thought everything was his fault.

Finally, the young man's thoughts turned to a dark alleyway by a busy Tokyo intersection. Itachi focused hard on the location and closed his eyes. He could feel his soul being pulled and when his eyes opened again, he was standing in the middle of one of the biggest intersections of Tokyo traffic.

The cars passed through his body, and he absentmindedly noted the tickle in his astro-aura that had been so odd to him the first time people had ran through his soul and not hit him. Walking quickly through the traffic, Itachi stepped onto the busy sidewalk and strode purposefully to the alley in question.

He knew that Sakura would be here because she had to be. There was a list of unspoken rules in the spirit world that weren't necessary, but the majority of ghosts that Itachi had encountered followed them. However, there was one rule that couldn't be broken.

On the day of your death, you had to return to the place where you spent your last breath.

Itachi had thought it to be a cruel, cosmic joke, the day he opened his eyes after a few moments of thought and found himself on the busy road in the exact place he had died. He could barely move in a three meter radius from the spot for an entire twenty-four hours, and he had been livid. Now, though, five years later, it hardly mattered anymore.

When he found the alleyway in question, Itachi walked behind the sushi restaurant that enclosed the alley.

She was huddled in a corner behind an old dumpster with her knees pulled to her chin and arms tucking them to her. When his spirit form stood toe-to-toe with her, not casting any shadow, she looked up at him for a moment. Then, she tucked her chin back into her knees, seemingly ignoring his presence.

The girl was in her school uniform, which would have been what she died in. Her pink hair fell perfectly around her face, barely giving whispering touches to her shoulders and was tucked behind a red ribbon that pulled it back and out of her face. Itachi was semi-glad to find that she did not look like a furious spirit; their faces were almost always contorted with anger no matter where they were.

She spoke first. "I always wondered if I'd see you here or if you'd be in heaven."

"There is no heaven. There is just this," Itachi replied quietly. Sakura wrinkled her nose.

"There must be something other than this, or else the world would be filled with the spirits of every person who has died," she rebutted instantly. Itachi raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing. The girl had a point, but he had never bothered looking for the answers to what happened after all of this.

She looked up at him with fiery jade eyes; not angry, just spirited. "How come you got to die in cool clothes? I'm stuck in this damned school uniform for eternity."

Itachi couldn't help it: he chuckled a bit at that. His leather riding jacket, black slacks, and rumpled blue shirt did seem a little more stylish than a sailor school uniform.

"Were you surprised when you were brought here?" he asked instead. She shook her head negatively.

"My godmother, Chiyo-baasama, found me when I passed. We were together for a while, and she warned me of everything I may encounter," the girl replied. Itachi nodded; he was glad that there was someone here for her to explain. He had been confused until he found a spirit who helped him through the first few weeks. Her voice was barely a whisper when she added, "It doesn't make it easier, though."

Once again, Itachi nodded, but this time, he moved and sat down next to her.

"What happened?"

Sakura was quiet for many long moments. Finally, she explained, "There was a student teacher at my school, Yakushi Kabuto. He was a decent teacher, I guess, but unbeknownst to us, was a real whack-job. When he got turned down for a permanent teaching position, he snapped and murdered two of his students in a three-hour span. My friend Ino was murdered outside her home a few miles from here less than two hours before me. I was walking home from work, and he pulled me into this alleyway and strangled me. He was caught when he tried to go for a third girl, Hyuuga Hinata. I guess her cousin was with her and Kabuto didn't know, so he was stopped. He's spending the rest of his life in prison."

The long-winded explanation seemed to be cathartic for Sakura, and she sighed while stretching out her legs and cracking her fingers, seemingly calmer now that she had company. Although she hardly seemed the emotional wreck Itachi had prepared for, he was glad he could bring her some comfort on this day.

"Your friend Ino?" Itachi prompted. At this, Sakura whipped her head towards him and glared for a moment before her emerald eyes saddened.

"She was an angry spirit. I found her and she tried to attack me. Chiyo-baasama intervened, and that's how I found her," Sakura sighed. Itachi nodded but wasn't surprised. When a young person dies violently, especially at the hands of another, it is more likely than not that they will be an angry spirit.

"Why're you here?" the girl asked before Itachi could dwell on the fate of the other young girl.

"Sasuke asked me to find you today and check on your welfare."

Sakura smiled softly. "That was nice of him."

"Ah."

For many hours, until the sun was setting over the horizon and people were clearing the streets to get away from the early-winter bite, they were silent. Suddenly, Sakura stood and mock-cracked her back in a gesture of comfort.

"Thank you for staying with me, Itachi-san," she said with genuine gratitude. Itachi nodded and watched the girl begin to walk from the alleyway when a feeling overcame him.

Before he could stop it, he called to her. The girl stopped and turned to him, a curious look lighting her bright green eyes. "Sakura-san. Would you like some company?"

She blinked once, twice, three times. And then she smiled, really smiled.

"I would love some company, Itachi-san. This unlife is a lonely one."

He blinked, once, twice. "Then let's not be alone for a while."

He stood and walked to her and looked at her when she stretched out his hand towards his. Since they were both spirits, he was able to take it and touch for the first time in many years. Hand in hand, they walked down the busy Tokyo streets, away from the place where Sakura took her last breath.

Author's Note: It's not supposed to be sad, I promise. I guess it's just hopeful that even if people die young, there's hope that they find happiness or companionship elsewhere. I hope this didn't offend anybody or bring up painful memories. If it did, I'm sorry! But please review and tell me what you think of this since it's the first thing like it I've ever really done.