Chapter 4

Haunted

Opening her eyes to the sound of her alarm clock going off, Sakura rolled over, and shielded her eyes from the sunlight reflecting off the walls of her room. She lay in bed motionless for a few seconds, watching the blades of her ceiling fan spin around in endless circles. Once her eyes had adjusted, and she felt ready to prepare for her day, she stood from her bed and proceeded to do her morning routine.

After she'd finished breakfast, Sakura grabbed her medical supplies and made her way for the door. But just before she grabbed the door knob, there was a knock. She opened the door, and much to her surprise, Shizune was standing on the other side.

"Oh, hey, Shizune? What's up?" Sakura asked, still in shock to see Shizune of all people on her porch.

Immediately, Shizune grabbed her hand, and pulled Sakura with her, "I'm sorry, Sakura, but I need you to come with me right now."

"W-why? Where's the fire?" Sakura asked, trying to keep pace with Shizune.

Shizune sighed and looked at Sakura, "It's difficult to explain, but we need to get Naruto on his feet by the end of next week."

"By the end of next week?!" Sakura asked in shock and disbelief, "In Naruto's condition, that's asking for a lot, even if we had two Tsunades."

Shizune nodded in agreement, "I know, but trust me. There's a new chain of events happening now."

Sakura blinked at Shizune with a blank face, then looked ahead of her to watch where she was going, "What's that supposed to mean?" She thought.

Arriving at the hospital, Sakura and Shizune rushed to Naruto's room where Tsunade and a number of other nurses were standing over Naruto's bed.

"Now remember, we only have five days to get this done." Tsunade said, "Everyone works double shifts from this point on! No exceptions!"

The nurses nodded and immediately went to work on Naruto. Taking blood pressure, drawing and reading charts, and doing whatever else they could possibly do.

Completely confused by what was going on, Sakura approached Tsunade, "Uh…excuse me, Lady Hokage, but what's going on?"

Tsunade, who was now reading a graph, glanced at Sakura, then returned her attention to the clipboard in her hand, "There's been a change of plan, Sakura. A new and unexpected turn of events has come, and we need Naruto on his feet within the next four days."

Sakura looked over at Naruto, who was sleeping soundly, which made her happy, then looked at Tsunade, "Is that even possible? That's asking a lot, even for you given Naruto's current condition. Wouldn't it be easier just to let him sit this mission out and let his body recover by itself?"

Tsunade turned her attention to Sakura and said, "Believe me, Sakura. If it we had the time to allow that to happen, I'd allow Naruto to stay here under your personal care until his body got itself sorted out. However, your new mission will require Naruto to be on his feet…or at least on crutches."

Sakura's confusion only continued to grow, "Why? Why can't you just tell me what's going on?" She asked in a voice mixed with confusion and frustration.

"Because I'm not the one who can explain things in detail." Tsunade said, "Whether or not we get Naruto on his feet in the next few days may be irrelevant. There's a force in this village now that requires Team Seven accompany him on a journey."

"What kind of journey?" Sakura asked.

Tsunade paused for a moment, looked at her clipboard again, and then rolled her eyes back up at Sakura, "A journey to the Unknown." She said. "Now, we have no time to waste. There's a lot of things we need to do."

Sakura, though she was still majorly confused about the conversation, nodded, and ran over to Naruto where she did as Tsunade or Shizune instructed.

Many Hours Later

Having worked a double shift, Sakura slowly made her way home, exhausted from using up so much of her Chakra reserves. It was nearly three in the morning, and she had to be back again at eight to finish what seemed like an impossible task.

"Man, what's up with Lady Tsunade all of a sudden? She's never like this." Sakura thought to herself, "If she's so concerned about Naruto, why doesn't she make some…Shadow Clones…to…" She slapped herself on the forehead, "Are you kidding me?! I think of that now when it's practically no use?" She groaned in frustration, "Oh, well, I can at least bring up the idea tomorrow. Tsunade would surely have enough Chakra to do this, right?" She continued to think about new ideas the rest of the way to her house.

When she reached her house, Sakura found a note on the door left behind by her mother,

Sakura,

Something's come up. I'll be gone for a few days."

Love, Mom.

Sakura, still angry about the last conversation she'd had with her mother, crumpled the paper, and retrieved the spare house key from under a loose board on the porch. She then unlocked the door, and made her way directly to the kitchen to prepare a quick meal.

Once her meal was finished, she proceeded to the Dining Room where she sat down and started eating, but she was interrupted by a loud bang in the room above her. She jumped out of her chair and armed herself with a Kunai Knife, fearing there was a burglar in her house. "Who's there?!" She called out.

No response.

"I said who's there?!" Sakura yelled again.

Still, there was no response.

Angry and tired from her last shift, Sakura wasn't about to put up with the headache of some burglar taking some of her treasured items, and slowly started to make her way up the stairs. When she got to the top of the stairs, she flipped the light switch to the hall, but the light burnt out.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Sakura whispered in an annoyed tone. She stared down the almost pitch black hallway for a moment, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness, and proceeded, ready for anyone to jump on her, or have things the other way around.

"I'm not going to call out again! I'm armed, and will protect myself by whatever means necessary! If you come out now I promise not to harm you. It'd be a lot easier for us both if you just cooperated!" She hollered.

Still, there was no response.

Sakura continued down the hall to the room she heard the crash from, and prepared to storm in. She took a deep breath, and quickly kicked the door open, only to find a completely empty room, leaving her very confused.

"What the? I could've swore I heard a crash up here." She said while scratching her head. She skimmed the floor to see if anything had just fallen off a shelf, but didn't find anything. She looked around for a few more seconds, then started to leave. "Hmm…weird."

Before she got to the door, it slammed shut in front of her, making her jump back screaming. She could then hear the sound of someone running down the stairs, and she immediately gave chase. She jumped over the railing at the end of the hall, and landed on the ground floor.

"Okay, there are only so many places you can hide now. Come out, and I promise not to harm you." She said, checking behind her as she walked around the house.

Still, there was no answer, but this time, she heard something come from the basement.

She ran to the basement door, opened it, and saw nothing but pitch blackness. The air grew unnervingly cold and still, and Sakura suddenly had a bad feeling in her gut. Ignoring her better judgement, she turned the lights on, and slowly descended down the stairs. Once she reached the bottom, she armed herself with another Kunai Knife, and prepared for what she assumed would be an ambush.

"Last. Warning." Sakura said slowly, "Come out, and I will not use force."

She was answered with nothing bus silence, but the atmosphere was growing more uncomfortable. Sakura walked further into the basement, but suddenly, the door at the top of the stairs slammed shut, and the one light in the basement started flickering madly. The air grew almost unbreathable, and Sakura saw a shadow move in the corner of her eye. Wanting nothing to do with what was going on, she ran as fast as she could for the stairs, but heard the lightbulb explode, darkening the entire basement. She moved as fast as she could up the stairs, but could sense there was another presence right behind her all the way up, reaching out to grab her. When she reached the top of the stairs, she busted through the door, slammed it shut behind her, and ran outside as quick as she could.

Sakura was now leaning on her knees, trying to catch her breath. She looked back at her house with a terrified and confused face, "What the hell was that?!" She yelled, not caring if she woke up the entire neighborhood.

She waited a few minutes to make sure that whatever it was that was chasing her up the stairs wasn't going to be coming out. The air was normal outside, but she could sense there was definitely something…otherworldly coming from her house. She took a few steps back to look in the upstairs window, but couldn't see anything. She then looked at the main entrance again, and saw the lights were starting to flicker in the kitchen, then the hallway, then she could hear footsteps going up the stairs with a shadow on the wall.

Going with her better judgement this time, Sakura slowly backed away from her house, and ran towards Ino's place, leaving the door to her house wide open.

At Ino place, Sakura lightly tapped on the window of Ino's room a few times, and after several tries, Ino finally pushed the curtains aside, rubbing her eyes, and opened the window, 'S-Sakura? What are you doing here?" Ino asked as she yawned.

Sakura sighed and lowered her head, then looked back up at Ino, "It's difficult to explain. Do you mind if I stay here for the night?"

Ino yawned again and nodded, "Sure, but I want an explanation in the morning."

Sakura nodded, and climbed through the window into Ino's room.

Ino walked over to her bedroom closet, grabbed a few sheets, and tossed them to Sakura, "Here. Just find a place on the floor, and I'll throw you a pillow."

Sakura nodded and scouted out the floor for what seemed like a good place. Once she was happy with a spot, she lay the blankets down and prepared her area, while Ino went back to her bed and tossed Sakura a pillow.

Sakura caught the pillow and smiled kindly at Ino, "Thanks a lot, Ino. I owe you."

"Yeah, you do because you woke me from a really nice dream." Ino said, yawning again as she climbed back in bed and closed her eyes.

Sakura chuckled quietly, finished readying her spot, and tried to sleep as best she could.

The following morning, Sakura woke to the sun reflecting off the walls of Ino's room, then suddenly shot her eyes open when she feared she'd over slept. She rolled over to see if Ino was still in bed, and to her relief, she was still sleeping. She quietly stood up and slowly walked over to the table next to Ino's bed to check the time on her alarm clock, and saw it was only 6:30, which left her plenty of time to prepare for another long day at the hospital.

Sakura turned back to her sleeping place and started folding the blankets Ino gave her. She fluffed the pillow again, and put the blankets neatly in Ino's closet. However, before she was able to close the door, something fell to the floor, causing a loud bang, and making Ino rocket to the ceiling.

"Uh…good morning, Ino. Sleep well?" Sakura asked, trying to look as innocent as possible.

Ino, who had concentrated her Chakra on the bottom of her feet, and was standing upside down on the ceiling, crossed her arms and gave Sakura an angry glare. "Really, Sakura? Just…just really? You just can't let me sleep in peace?"

Sakura rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment, "Uh, well, you see, I was trying to –"

"Ah, bu,bu,bu,bu! Not another word!" Ino said before she fell back down to her bed.

Sakura chuckled and searched the ground for whatever it was that fell. When she found it, she put it back in the closet. "Well, I'm sorry for scaring you like that, Ino, I was truly trying to be quiet."

Ino groaned and stood from her bed, "I think you misunderstand the meaning of that word, Sakura. There's quiet as a mouse, then there's quiet as a bull in a China store. You are most definitely the latter." She said as she walked towards Sakura. "Well, since I'm up, I guess I may as well get ready. Would you like some breakfast? I think I still have some burnt toast leftover from yesterday, which is all I'm really inclined to share with you after waking me up at three bloody thirty in the morning!"

Sakura laughed and stood out of Ino's way as she left her room, "Ah, it wasn't that good of a dream."

Ino rolled her eyes and started going down the stars, "It was good enough. I was about to kiss my knight in shining armor, then met your ugly pale white face."

Sakura chuckled and claimed her seat at the dining room table, "Hey, it's better than Choji's isn't?"

Ino remained silent for a few moments as she started preparing things, "To be honest…I can't tell the difference." She finally said, winking at Sakura.

Sakura only remained silent as she gave Ino a deathly stare.

"Oh, come on, Sakura, you know that was a good come back." Ino said.

Sakura smiled and rolled her eyes before resting her cheeks in her palms.

"So why did you come here, anyway?" Ino asked, catching Sakura's attention.

Sakura tried to think of a way she could tell Ino about what happened without sounding crazy, but was unable to think of anything. She looked up at Ino, who was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, leaning against the wall, and said, "To be perfectly honest, Ino…I think my house is haunted."

Ino raised an eyebrow, "Since when are you a believer of the paranormal? You've never believed in ghosts before."

Sakura nodded, "Yeah, I know, but after what happened last night, I think I might change my stance on things."

"Why? What happened?" Ino asked. She walked up to the table, and sat down in the seat across from Sakura.

Sakura sighed, and tried to think back, "I don't really know where to begin. Tsunade, for some reason, wants Naruto on his feet by next Monday. She hasn't told me why, but she's sending Naruto, Kakashi, and I on some kind of mission."

"Isn't it a little early for Naruto to be doing anything that involves him leaving the hospital?" Ino asked.

Sakura nodded, "He's in no condition to move at all, yet Tsunade wants him out of the hospital in another three days. Three! I tried telling her that Naruto would be better off left alone and letting his body heal itself, but she wouldn't listen. She sounds almost as if she's paranoid about something."

"Well, let's get back to that in a minute. Continue on about your experience with this ghost." Ino said.

"Oh, right." Sakura paused for a few seconds as she tried the think, "Let's see, after I got back home last night, I was eating a quick meal before I turned in for the night, then I heard a loud bang in the room above me. At first I thought there was a burglar or something in my house, but when I got to the room, there was no one there, and the window was closed. After that, I tried to convince myself something must've just fallen off a shelf, or my mind was playing tricks on me, and leave the room, but the door slammed right in front of me."

Ino's eyes widened, "Are you serious?"

Sakura nodded, "But wait…it gets better. I went into the basement a few minutes later…and the air felt dead. Like, I could hardly breathe. And on top of that, there was something that just didn't feel right about what was going on. Then, all of a sudden, the door at the top of the stairs slammed shut, and the light in the basement started flickering. At that point, I really felt like there was something else down there with me, so I ran for the stairs. The light busted before I got to them, and as I was running, I swear to God I felt something was right behind me. I ran straight out into the street, looked back, and saw a shadow on the wall of the stairs. It was freaky as all Hell."

Ino's eyes were wide, and her mouth was hanging open, "H-holy cow! That is terrifying. I wonder where that thing came from."

"I don't know, but I'm definitely not going back home tonight." Sakura said, shaking her head, "No way. You couldn't pay me enough to set one foot back inside that house."

"You don't think it was all just in your head?" Ino asked.

Sakura glared at Ino and asked, "Do you seriously think I'd be a ninja if I had that kind of imagination? No. I'd be an actress, writer, or have some kind of job like that. I'd make a killing off horror books and movies."

Ino laughed, "I guess that is true. You always were pretty brain dead."

"This is serious, Ino. What am I going to do? I'm not sleeping in a house with a spirit that wants to kill me!" Sakura said.

"And you're not going to." Ino said, "You're more than welcome to stay here with me until Tsunade sends you out on this big mission…whatever it is. You're always welcome here, Sakura."

Sakura smiled, and held Ino's hand, "Thanks, Ino. That's very kind of you."

Ino smiled back, and stood from her chair. "Well, I guess I'll go ahead and fix breakfast. You want to help?"

"Sure. I assume you'll be having White Rice?" Sakura asked.

Ino nodded, "Mmm-hmm. If you want to make that, I'll make the soup and pickled vegetables."

""It's a deal." Sakura said. She stood from her chair, and walked into the kitchen with Ino where they both prepared their breakfasts.

A while later, Sakura made her way into the lobby of the hospital and clocked in. She then proceeded to Naruto's room where Tsunade and Shizune were sitting beside Naruto, who seemed to be a lot better.

"Oh, good morning, Sakura. How are you?" Shizune asked.

I'm okay, thank you." Sakura said, bowing her head slightly at Shizune. She walked up to the end of Naruto's bed, "So how's he doing now?"

Tsunade sighed and rubbed Naruto's forehead, "We made a lot of progress yesterday, and the Nine-Tails is starting to help out a lot, too. As far as his wounds go, he's in decent health, but he still has a ways to go."

Sakura looked at Naruto's face for a few seconds, then looked at Tsunade, "Do you still think his days as a ninja are over?"

Tsunade remained silent for a moment, then turned to Sakura, "It's difficult to tell. When I first saw him, I thought for sure that he was done. But now…if the Nine-Tails continues to do what it's doing, he may yet have a chance. However, that doesn't mean it'll be easy for him."

Sakura sighed in relief, and for once, she was somewhat happy Naruto actually had the Nine-Tails inside of him. She looked at Naruto's face again with her lips curved into a small smile, "That's the way, Naruto. Keep fighting. I know you can pull through this."

"Oh, Sakura, before I forget, I need to know where you stand with medical supplies." Shizune said, catching Sakura's attention.

Sakura thought for a few seconds, then turned to face Shizune, "I think I'm fine for the most part. Aside from Naruto, no one really got hurt on the last mission. A resupply of Morphine couldn't hurt, as well as some new medical tools, though."

Shizune nodded, "Right, I'll see that you're re-supplied right away. You'll need to be in full supply when you go on your next mission."

"Though I doubt you'll be needing it." Tsunade said.

Sakura looked at Tsunade with a blank face, "Why do you say that?" she asked curiously.

"Let's just say you're about to be getting involved in an entirely different game, and leave it at that." Tsunade said, leaving Sakura even more confused. She stood from her chair and started towards the door, then stopped and looked back at Sakura, "Oh, Sakura, since Naruto's in good condition now, you only have to work eight hours today. I want you to spend tomorrow resting, and packing whatever belongings you can't live without. I have a feeling you won't be coming back to the village for quite some time. Maybe even a few years. So be sure to say good-bye to all your friends before you depart."

"A few years?" Sakura thought. Fear started to rush through her body, and she tried to plea with Tsunade, "B-but, what if I don't want to go on this mission? My mother's in bad health, and it would kill me if I wasn't here when she-"

"That's enough Sakura!" Tsunade shouted, silencing Sakura. She stood silent for a moment as she saw tears forming in Sakura's eyes, and turned her whole body to face, "Forgive me, Sakura. But you must understand that there's a higher force here. You're not going on this mission for the Hidden Leaf, but for Naruto, and maybe the whole world. I don't know what you should expect when you leave the village, but do not be ashamed or afraid to leave. And don't worry. I am well aware of your mother's health situation. I will personally over see her treatments from this day forward."

Sakura stood in silence for several seconds, then slowly nodded, not knowing what else to say or do. But at least she wasn't going alone, and she would have Naruto alongside her for the journey, which brought her some comfort. However, she started to become really concerned about the chance that Naruto may not fully recover, and that he may no longer be able to fight."

"Oh, and Sakura." Tsunade said, catching Sakura's attention again, "If you experience any…odd situations, let me or Shizune know immediately, okay?"

Sakura stared at Tsunade with a blank face, "Odd situations? What's that supposed to mean?" She thought to herself. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, and bowed to Tsunade, "Will do, Ma-am."

Tsunade nodded, "Good. I'm leaving Naruto in your hands now, Sakura." She turned away from Sakura, and made her way out of the room with Shizune following close behind. Sakura waited until the door was completely closed before sitting beside Naruto and doing a few minor checkups.

The Hokage Building

Some time had passed since Tsunade and Shizune left Naruto's room and made their way back to the Tsunade's office. Tsunade would be spending the rest of the day signing documents and other papers that ensured the safety of the village and its people. Some documents called for the recruitment of more combat and medical ninja, while other documents gave more income to weapons designers to improve the arsenal the Leaf's ninja would have at their disposal.

Once she finished one pile, Shizune took the final paper and handed it to another ninja who was standing beside the desk and ordered him to see that they were filed away.

The ninja nodded, and ran out of the room, closing the door behind him. But the second the door closed, the lights switched off, catching everyone off guard, and there was a loud poof followed by black smoke filling the room. When the smoke cleared, Tsunade and Shizune's eyes widened,

"Night Hawk?" Shizune asked in a nervous voice.

"I hear you're having some trouble with the boy." Night Hawk said in a tone that sent shivers down both the women's spines.

"Err, well, we know that he will be able to walk again, but the problem is that we need him to wake up before we can do anything else." Shizune said.

"The boy will be awake soon enough." Night Hawk said. He started to approach Tsunade's desk, reaching into his robe for something, "But in the event that I'm wrong, take this and jab it into his heart." He laid a shot on Tsunade's desk.

Tsunade looked at the shot and then looked up at night Hawk, "You want us to what now?"

"Must I really repeat myself?" Night Hawk said, giving Tsunade a glare that made her blood run cold. He then looked at the shot and continued, "This shot contains a medicine Atlassian medics created to bring soldiers out of a state of shock. It poses no threat to the boy's life, but will give his heart a bit of a shock. He shouldn't be asleep for long after that."

Shizune looked at the shot for a moment, narrowed her eyes, and glared at Night Hawk, "And how are we supposed to know you're not trying to kill Naruto?" She asked.

Night Hawk turned his attention to Shizune and returned her glare, making her take a few steps back, "What reason would I have to kill him? His death would make it infinitely easier for an Agroneese spirit to possess his body, making things more difficult than they need to be for this task. If you are not willing to accept my help, then he won't wake up in time, and the girl will have to carry him. Speaking of which." Tsunade and Shizune gave Night Hawk their full attention, "The Agroneese spirit has already begun its haunting, and is already growing stronger. I need you, Tsunade, to take this to Sakura." He reached inside his robe again and pulled out a paper with a bunch of strange symbols on it, then handed it to Tsunade, "You have the closer relation with the girl, and the spell on this paper only works if the person who cares the most about the other gives it to them. Right now she thinks she'll be safe at a friends' house, but she'll soon learn otherwise."

"And what exactly will this piece of paper do?" Tsunade asked.

"The ancients who faced the Agroneese the first time found ways to protect themselves against these spirits using dark and forbidden magic. The enchantments on that piece of paper are strong enough to protect the girl from the entity entering her body and taking control. She must wear this at all times until we leave the village. The spirit is feasting on the emotion here in the village, and it is rapidly growing more powerful. However, it will weaken when we leave the village, and our path will be too long for it to follow before it fades into the void."

Tsunade looked down at the piece of paper, then looked at Night Hawk again, "Are there any particular words I need to say when I hand her this piece of paper?"

"No. Though it would be wise to say you know about her hauntings. She's already scared enough as it is, and she'll take any help she can get, especially after what's likely to happen tonight." Night Hawk said. "So long as she has that paper the spirit will not be able to harm her."

"And what about her friend, Ino?" Shizune asked.

"The spirit doesn't have a strong enough connection with her yet to pose a threat, and I highly doubt it's interested in her." Night Hawk said, "But in the event it is interested in her, we'll be long gone before it's able to do anything."

Tsunade sighed and looked at the piece of paper, "Very well. I'll take this to Sakura immediately. She should be on break right now."

Night Hawk nodded in response, and disappeared from the room in a cloud of black smoke.

Author's notes: Well, guys and gals. I think that's going to do it for this chapter as it has reached 11 pages on Microsoft Word. I will continue this with chapter 5: Haunted part two.

Thank you all so much for reading, and please feel free to leave reviews. They keep me inspired to continue writing, and I like hearing other people's ideas as well. Maybe your idea could save me from writer's block in the future? You never know.

Take care guys. Chapter 5 will be out soon.