Please Believe Me
Chapter 2

"Come on now Ibiki, do you really think this is gonna work? I mean we've already tried a priest." Said Inoichi as they walked down the halls of the hospital. He was flipping through the file of Kenji Mahada as a last check to ensure he had everything they needed.

"Well, I don't know. Apparently one of the family members has seen the guy in action. Says he's legit." Ibiki replied.

"Really?" he asked sarcastically. "And you believe all this?"

Ibiki glanced at him, "In what? Ghosts?" he asked receiving a look of confirmation. "Why not? I mean is it so impossible? Your own daughter even tho.." he began until Inoichi suddenly stopped.

"Leave her out of this." He said in a demanding tone.

"Alright, alright calm down." Ibiki said defusing the situation. "I'm just saying, it may not be as crazy as you think."

"Yeah… right." Inoichi replied sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. Inoichi had been dreading this day ever since he called the man. To him, it was just wasting everyone's time. If a priest couldn't help the kid then why should he believe this guy could? To him it was a scam that Kenji's family was walking right into. If they wanted to waste their money then so be it. It wasn't his problem.

The two finally made it to the receptionists' desk where they were told the guy was waiting. At first glance, Inoichi already doubted the man. From their brief conversation, he'd assumed the guy was at the very least in his mid-thirties. The kid was no older than Ino looking to be about twenty to twenty one. The guy wore a pair of black jeans, a white T-shirt, a black leather jacket, and a pair of black boots. Inoichi could see the bags beneath his eyes from a distance. An unlit cigarette hung between his lips as he flipped a metal liter between his fingers.

"Hello." Said Ibiki in a friendly manner. "You must be Naruto. I'm Ibiki." He said extending his hand.

"Yes sir. How are you?" he replied shaking the man's hand in greeting.

"Well, a little stressed recently." Ibiki replied.

"Very understandable." Naruto said with a nod as he looked over to Inoichi who seemed to be examining him. "Mr. Yamanaka, I presume." He stated holding his hand out.

Inoichi hesitated for a second before shaking his hand. "Yes. Welcome to Greenleaf."

"Thank you for having me." He replied. "The kid's family on the way?" Naruto asked as he looked around at the scenery.

"Yeah, I got a call from Mr. Hamada just a few minutes ago. Says they're about half an hour out." Inoichi replied still eyeing the kid suspiciously.

"Well, would you like to go over some of the information along the way?" Ibiki asked handing him the stack of folders.

"Sure." Naruto replied taking the files and flipping open the first one.

"If you'd please follow me, we will take you to Mr. Kenji Mahada." Inoichi said lazily as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Naruto simply nodded as he read the file and followed the two men. He was reviewing a few of the photographs as well as Kenji's many requests and a few of the notes Ibiki took during their sessions. "How exactly did he end up here?"

"Well a few years ago, he was found in his home, alone, with multiple lacerations covering his form." Ibiki explained. "Kid said his uncle was tormenting him but he had been dead for a few years prior. Most of the marks were classified as self-harm so for his safety, he was sent here."

Naruto pulled up the pictures from when the kid was first admitted. They definitely seemed to be self-inflicted. In fact, all of the marks seemed that way. All but one. One that he couldn't have possibly done to himself, especially with the state he was in. It was a long, deep scratch stretching down his back. Right in the center. "Are his episodes… triggered.. by anything?" He asked.

"Uhh, yeah actually. Sound. Kenji has expressed his urgency to be placed in solitary confinement. That's where he's been for the past two years and the only two incidents he's had were conveniently when we passed by his room with some of the more verbal patients…" Ibiki once again explained.

"It's not uncommon though for a few of our patients to be triggered by sound." Inoichi said in a somewhat frustrated tone.

"Yeah but they also act out randomly a few times too. Kenji's episodes only occur when it gets too loud." Ibiki stated giving a little more information.

"Hmm…" Naruto said in order to let Ibiki know he was listening. "How are his sessions?" Naruto asked as Ibiki once again began to describe what had been asked of him. Naruto shut the files and simply looked around the hall. His eyes landed onto Inoichi. He could just tell the guy didn't believe in this stuff. No matter where he went, there was always at least one guy like him so he was used to it.

As he watched him, he noticed when Inoichi slowed his pace slightly and how his eyes were locked on one door specifically. Before they passed it, Inoichi turned and faced forward in an attempt to seem like he wasn't looking. Feeling curious, Naruto peered into the room just as they were walking by.

Inside, he looked on at a young blonde girl who seemed to be eating a meal as she faced the door. Her eyes were fixed firmly on the bottom edge of the window he was peering into. As if on cue, their eyes met. Dark blue gazed briefly into light blue. Her pale blues watched his as they walked passed her door. Whatever it was that interested her seemed to subside as she looked down at the bottom edge of her window and continued eating as if nothing happened. She picked at her tray and continued to eat. Her expression remaining in its blanch state.

Opening the door, Naruto, Ibiki, and Inoichi walked into the room of Kenji Mahada. The brown haired, black eyed teen. The kid was sitting in a chair in the center of the room with a straitjacket securing his arms around his body. In his ears, a pair of ear plugs. He was mumbling under his breath rapidly as his eyes fidgeted around the floor. At first glance, he definitely seemed to belong here. For Naruto, that wasn't enough.

"He requested the ear plugs and the straitjacket." Ibiki said. Naruto nodded and walked around the room to feel it out. He was looking around as if he were looking for something specifically. Inoichi watched him with a careful eye feeling as though maybe he belonged in here as well.

"Yeah, not really sure what you're looking for... Won't find anything but white walls." He was stopped by Naruto raising a hand to him as he seemingly heard something.

He could hear it. He got closer to Kenji who still had yet to look at anyone. He was listening intently to the mumbling.

"He does that all day." Inoichi stated as he crossed his arms. To him, Naruto was looking for any reason to blow smoke. It was an obvious scam and the Hamada's were foolish for believing in this.

Naruto was squatted down right next to Kenji listening to what he was saying. His eyes squinted in suspicion as he then turned to face the teen. Ibiki and Inoichi watched in curiosity. Naruto snickered lightly through his nose and stood to his feet. "Looks like we gotta do it now." He stated walking towards the door.

"Do what?" asked Inoichi as he and Ibiki followed him out.

"He needs an exorcism. He's possessed." He explained as casually as ever as they walked down the hall back to the reception area.

"Well, what do we need?" Ibiki asked in worry.

"I need a mirror, a speaker, and two extra sets of hands." He said walking faster than before.

"Ok, hang on. Are you serious?" Inoichi asked grabbing the guys arm and turning him around. "Possessed? Are you insane?" He stated in a very disbelieving tone.

"Get what I need and you'll find out." Naruto stated simply as he turned around and continued walking. Inoichi just looked at his retreating form for a split second until he shook his head and turned to his right. They were right in front of Ino's door. He was shocked to see her look into his eyes for a slight second before she turned back to stare at the bottom edge of the window. Inoichi sighed and went to get what was needed.

Ibiki and Inoichi stood by Kenji Hamada's door with the requested objects. A standing mirror they found in a room they used for storage, and a speaker from their orientation room which was used for directing their incoming employees. They were arguing over what exactly was going to take place. Inoichi vehemently claiming he was insane and Ibiki trying to convince him to give him a chance. Their conversation was cut short when Naruto came around the corner with a bucket of paint in his left hand, a white sheet tucked under his armpit, a bible, and a sledgehammer slung across his right shoulder.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What the hell!?" Inoichi exclaimed putting the heavy speaker down. "What kind of exorcism is this? I can't let you bring that in here." Naruto ignored him and pushed the bible onto his chest.

"Trust me when I say it's needed." He said as he attempted to step by him.

"Hang on." Inoichi said stepping in front of him again. "Needed for what?" He asked.

"That kid will die today if we don't do this now." Naruto explained in a casual tone.

"And how do you know that?"

"He's speaking Polish." He said shocking the two. "He's saying, 'Get him out' over and over again." He handed the sheet to Ibiki.

"So what. The kid claimed it was his uncle. As far as I know he has no Polish in his family." Inoichi replied.

"There is something inside of him… and it's not his uncle." Naruto said stepping around him and opening the door. He instructed Inoichi to hook the speaker up to his phone and hang onto the bible. He had Ibiki hold the mirror ten feet away from Kenji while he opened the can. He then covered the entire thing in black paint and made sure it still functioned as a mirror. Just a black mirror.

"Inoichi…" he called out as he pulled the ear plugs from Kenji's ears. "Give me some music." Kenji's eyes shot open in pure fear as he stared up at Naruto's pleadingly. Inoichi put on a very loud rock song from Naruto's playlist.

He put the speaker on maximum volume and watched to see what would happen. To Inoichi's surprise, Kenji released a very violent screech as if he were in actual pain. Inoichi looked back and forth between the howling man and Naruto wondering what he was going to do. To his confusion, he was just standing there looking at him. He glanced over to Ibiki who was holding the sheet with his eyes unblinkingly watching Kenji. Nobody was doing anything to help the guy.

He watched as Kenji jerked and twisted trying to get free from his straitjacket. Even more surprising, he actually tore it. Inoichi ran towards him but was stopped when Naruto held his hand out. He yelled something at him that he couldn't hear before turning towards Ibiki and yelling something else. Ibiki gave him a confused expression trying to understand him. Naruto made gestures towards the mirror and sheet that Ibiki somehow understood. He took the white sheet and draped it over the glass.

Naruto then jogged towards Inoichi taking his belt off gesturing for him to do it too. He ran towards Kenji and pushed him back down into the chair. He used his belt and strapped him down to the arm rest. Inoichi did the same with his. Naruto nodded and instructed him to step back.

Inoichi turned towards Ibiki with a questioning look. To his surprise, Ibiki was looking at Kenji in what could only be described as a look of horror. He turned back and immediately questioned everything he had ever been told. It was Kenji but he didn't look like Kenji. His once brown eyes were now pitch black all around. No pupil, no iris. Just two shiny black orbs looking at Naruto in pure hatred. What was even more horrifying was the cuts that were springing up from his body randomly.

Inoichi is usually someone who tries to find a reasonable explanation for everything he comes across but… this is just unexplainable. He looked over to Naruto wondering what he was going to do. Now that he could see it was real, he was wondering what he was doing allowing this to go on. Naruto was just standing there staring at him with the sledgehammer slung over his right shoulder as he lit a cigarette with his left hand.

Taking a drag, he blew the smoke out of the side of his mouth so that he could hold the cigarette between his lips. He dug into his left pocket and pulled out a gold chain. On the end was a crucifix. Stepping closer to the growling and animalistic looking Kenji, he dangled the chain an inch away from his face receiving a hiss of confirmation. He nodded and turned towards Inoichi pointing at the bible in his hand. Inoichi tossed it over to him not wanting to get too close to the unnatural activity.

Naruto squatted down and leaned forward with the head of the sledge hammer on the ground supporting his weight. He held the book up to mentally read the passage. When he had it down, he shut the bible and set it on the ground. He pulled the cigarette from his mouth and began reciting the passage he just read in another language. Inoichi and Ibiki had no idea what he said but it seemed to get a reaction out of whatever it was controlling Kenji.

While he was speaking, the door was opened. In walked an elderly looking couple with a nurse. "Kenji!? What's going on!?" the old woman asked frantically. Inoichi got the nurses attention and told her to get them out of the room. The nurse did as instructed and ushered the two out while the woman frantically asked what was going on. Naruto continued the chant for a few seconds until Kenji's body seemed to bubble in his chest. To Inoichi it looked as if hands were reaching trying to get out. That seemed to be what Naruto was looking for as he stood to his feet.

Kenji began thrashing around and screaming even more violently than before. Naruto strolled back towards the mirror casually sticking the cigarette back in his mouth. Ibiki stood on the other side holding the edge of the sheet ready to pull it off.

Inoichi looked over towards the door seeing it creaking open again. Kenji's mother was trying to push pass the nurse to get to her screaming son. Fighting through his fear, Inoichi walked around Kenji keeping as much space between Kenji and him as possible. Reaching the door, he quickly explained the situation to the Hamada's and told them they had to wait outside. They fought him the whole time until two male nurses came walking around the corner. He instructed them to keep them out of the room and they nodded.

Inoichi shut the door and turned back to see Naruto standing next to the covered mirror with the sledgehammer at the ready. Inoichi stayed in his spot and watched as Naruto nodded towards Ibiki. Ibiki jerked the sheet off. What Inoichi saw truly shook him to the core. In the chair Kenji was supposed to be was a gruesome looking creature with no eyes. It was some kind of decayed body of a male doctor. Its head was chopped off just above its nose and its mouth remained agape.

The creature turned towards the mirror slowly and looked directly at Inoichi even with no eyes. It stood up slowly and began walking towards the mirror. Just before it reached the surface, Naruto swung the sledgehammer hard enough to completely shatter it.

The room went dead silent as Kenji hyperventilated as if he had just resurfaced from being drowned. Inoichi and Ibiki were stock white in fear and confusion not a hundred percent sure if they actually just witnessed this supernatural event. Naruto on the other hand just lit another cigarette as he stepped closer to Kenji. He squatted down in front of him and whispered something lowly. Kenji seemed revolted at whatever it was he said. Naruto stood out of the way and Kenji puked up a black liquid in front of his feet. Naruto walked over to the still shocked Inoichi with a blank expression, "Still think I'm insane?" he asked sarcastically as he passed him and walked out the door allowing the Hamada's to enter.

Inoichi looked over to Ibiki who was still holding the sheet in confusion, covered in sweat. He didn't say it but Inoichi knew Ibiki was asking him if that just happened. Inoichi didn't reply to the unasked question, he just looked down at the space between his feet still trying to make sense of the unnatural event. True, on first glance, he thought the blond was completely insane. Now, he saw it.

Pulling into his drive way, Inoichi's face was still conveying a look of shock, fear, and confusion all in one. He shut his car off and sat back in his seat staring at the top of his steering wheel. His mind was racing through every thought swimming through it. Ghosts were real. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe any of this. The new found evidence completely went against everything he's been told over the years. Even as a man of god, he didn't actually believe ghosts were real. Not till now. He peered up to Ino's bedroom window just, wondering.

Walking into his house, he leaned back to shut the door and stood there staring at the floor still lost in thought. Kiori came walking around the corner wiping her hands off. "Inoichi? How was it?" she asked very eager to hear how the 'whack job' turned out. Inoichi was speechless as he dropped his stuff and enveloped his wife in a sudden hug. Kiori wrapped her arms around him as well with a questioning look on her visage.

Inoichi pulled back and looked her in the eye displaying his troubled expression. Kiori looked confused once more as he tried to speak. "I…" The words refused to leave his mouth. Not that he could perfectly form them within his mind anyways.

Kiori grew worried, having never seen him this shaken up. She rubbed his back in a comforting way. "What's wrong?" Inoichi still had no words at the moment. "Did… did something happen?" To her surprise, Inoichi just wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. She was confused, but accepted the gesture nonetheless.

From there, Kiori made a couple cups of coffee and sat down with Inoichi at the table. In that time, Inoichi had time to come to terms with what he saw and what he wanted to tell her. He explained the supernatural experience in extreme detail. He left nothing out, including his thoughts throughout. It was fairly obvious Kiori was shaken. Maybe a bit disbelieving, but the way Inoichi spoke about it made her question her denial. It was just this morning which he himself didn't believe it either.

"I… Inoichi…" she couldn't express how insane the story sounded in terms that wouldn't make her seem like she didn't believe him.

It would seem she didn't have to. "I saw it.. Kiori… I saw it." He could tell she didn't believe him. He could just tell by her body language alone.

Walking back into the hospital wearing a pair of brown cargo pants, black boots, a white t-shirt beneath a black turtle neck jacket, and a black backpack slung across his back. Naruto was immediately greeted eagerly by Inoichi surprisingly. "Naruto! Hey you made it." He said shaking his hand a little too aggressively calming down when he realized exactly how strange he must've looked to his staff.

"Hello Inoichi. A pleasure to see you again." He said politely giving him a questioning look noting the file in his other hand. Inoichi ignored it and continued on. He ushered him down the hall they went the day before. Nodding to the receptionist on their way by.

"So uh, I've called you here because you see… a patient was brought into the asylum a few years ago because well she uh… Hmh." Inoichi said lowly coughing into his free hand, trying to explain as they walked pass prying ears. None of his staff truly knew the reason Ino was in this place. As far as they knew, she had a mental breakdown from an extreme build-up of stress. Luckily Naruto seems to have been in this situation before.

"I understand Dr. Yamanaka. You wouldn't have called me if you thought she had the flu." Naruto said holding his hand out to retrieve the file from his hands. Inoichi nodded enthusiastically and handed him the files. Naruto read it over trying to memorize its content beforehand. He read the patients name and glanced towards Inoichi in realization. When he first met him, he knew there was something off about the blonde man. Looking back to the file he read through it.

He noted the negative marks she received on every single one on one session, sometimes with Inoichi, sometimes with other doctors. He read the description of her daily activities which were limited to painting, eating, and watching the rain. When he got to the description of how she ended up here, he actually stopped in his tracks so that he could reread it.

Inoichi stopped walking himself as he turned to meet the questioning gaze of Naruto. He cleared his throat and stepped aside allowing the two nurses coming from the opposite direction to pass before he continued. "She's… this way…" he said unable to find the words. Naruto just eyed him suspiciously with an unreadable expression. Closing the file, he blinked a few times before following him the rest of the way.

They came upon room 212 and Inoichi stopped. He peered into the thick glass of the window on the door to see Ino in her usual position when not eating, with her back to the door. A new canvas on the easel in front of her already half finished. Her painting of the blue orchid was now lost within the endless pile of forgotten pictures that stacked up nearly to the roof. Naruto stood right next to him watching as Ino wordlessly and nearly motionlessly worked on a painting.

"So, this was your daughter huh?" Naruto asked suddenly throwing Inoichi from his worried thoughts. He glanced over to his fellow blonde wondering if he had met Ino before. "The last time I was here, this was the only room you bothered looking into on our way to Kenji's." Naruto explained.

Inoichi sighed and turned back to Ino. "She hasn't spoken in three years." He said suddenly. "She hasn't shown any kind of reaction in three whole years… I-…" Inoichi could no longer find the words that expressed his desperation.

Naruto didn't seem to need them, he put his hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring nod.

The unspoken words of comfort received, Inoichi nodded back. "So uh… so what do you need? You uh… you need to talk to her or something? I could.." he began, being stopped by Naruto.

"No." he said simply. "Where exactly did her… episodes begin?" he asked curiously.

Inoichi thought about it for a few moments. "At our home." He answered, staring at his daughter's back, somewhat remorsefully. Mentally vowing what he always did. He would get her back. This time, with help.