Chapter Three: Itachi Uchiha
As soon as Sakura and Keiko finished setting the table everybody grabbed ahold of each other's hands and bowed their heads to pray except for Sasuke. "This is stupid." He muttered underneath his breath before Sakura loudly hushed him.
"Dear Lord, bless this meal that we are about to receive and the hands that prepared it." Sakura's mother began. "And thank you for having us all come together to enjoy this wonderful Christmas meal and bless Tiny Takeo and his family." She prayed.
"Amen!" everybody exclaimed together except for Sasuke who just heaved a deep and heavy sigh and groaned.
"Can we please just eat our supper now?" he questioned them.
"Wow, I guess that you really must be hungry if you just said please." Sakura told him before she and everybody else let go of hands, sat down, and pushing their chairs in started passing food around the table.
Later that evening Keiko went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and Sasuke stuck his head around the corner and in on her. "Hey, do you want me to read you a bedtime story?" he asked her.
"No thank you Mister Scrooge!" she snapped as she finished brushing her teeth and then simply just turned her nose up at him as she turned off the light and left the bathroom. Sasuke just simply heaved a sigh as he watched her walk down the hallway and into her bedroom. He turned back around and walked back into the living room.
"Hey Sakura, I'm going to the store. Need anything?" he asked her.
"No, but why in the world are you going out at eight o'clock at night?" she wondered as he simply just narrowed his eyebrows and glared at her.
"Well, since I'm being forced to celebrate this stupid holiday against my will I might as well go and do my Christmas shopping." He told her before snatching his car keys off of the counter and then walked over to the front door to put his boots on and grab his coat. "I'll be back in a little bit." He told her while slipping his arms through the sleeves and then zipping his coat up before putting on his hat and gloves and walking outside into the snow.
….
"Damn it! It sure is coming down heavy out here." Sasuke said to himself while squinting to see the road through his window as his windshield wipers continued swishing back and forth. "I just shoveled too." He added while gently stepping on the brake to slow himself down so his car wouldn't slide off of the road. However, just as soon as he squeakily stepped back on the accelerator he saw a stag stepped out in front of his vehicle.
"Ah shit!" he cried while quickly slamming on his brakes but it was already too late. He widened his eyes as a bright light shone out in front of him and before he knew it he had been swallowed up inside of it. He was now lying flat on his back upon a white puffy cloud. As he slowly began to wake up he had that déjà vu feeling as he realized that he was all dressed in white.
"Oh no, not again." He began as he quickly leapt to his feet before his older brother appeared before him in a silvery glittering dust wearing a white robe with two gigantic wings attached to him and a golden halo shining over his head.
"You're lucky that you were able to get here at all Sasuke. God hasn't been too happy with you and the lack of your Christmas spirit." Itachi told him while heaving a deep and heavy sad sigh.
"Well I don't give a BLEEP!" Sasuke exclaimed before quickly covering his mouth and Itachi sighed again.
"There's no cussing in Heaven Sasuke. You should have already guessed that. It's a holy place." He told him as it was Sasuke's turn to now heave a sigh.
"Fine, just tell me how the BLEEP I'm supposed to get out of here this time." He said. "I do get to get out of here and go home right?" he questioned his older brother.
"Yes, as a matter of fact you do." Itachi began.
"Thank God." Sasuke replied.
"Hmm,.. it's actually rather funny that you should mention that because God has great plans for you once you return to earth you see. Anybody who enters Heaven who gets to remain here has to have Christmas spirit and there is currently one and only option for you little brother." Itachi told him.
"Oh really? And what the Bleep might that be?" Sasuke wondered.
"You will be haunted by three spirits." Itachi replied.
"Whoa, wait, hold on a second." Sasuke began. "You're dead so wouldn't that make it four spirits?" he questioned him but Itachi simply just ignored him and continued speaking.
"Expect the first one at one, the second at two, and,.." he began.
"Yeah I know. The third one at three I get it I went to kindergarten." Sasuke finished for him. "Can't we just have them all come at once and get it over with?" he questioned.
"Sorry brother, I don't make the rules I just work here." Itachi told him.
"Alright then, so when can I leave?" Sasuke wondered.
"Right now." Itachi told him and before he knew it he slowly started waking up inside of his hospital bed.
"I see,.. it was just a dream." He began to himself. "Bah humbug! There's no such things as ghosts!" he cried before he rolled onto his side and fell asleep.