HAUNTED
disclaimer: Naruto is the work Masashi Kishimoto, not me, and I make no profits from this fanfiction.
WARNINGS: shonen ai, yaoi, corniness, angst, possible spoilers, could be boring, first fanfiction, etc.
A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, I've been incredibly busy for the last week. Hopefully there's a couple of you guys that still want to read! Thanks to all for the reviews by the way! Enjoy!
CHAPTER 12
Naruto ran across the wide and overgrown expanse of lawn towards the abandoned Uchiha manor as thoughts raced through his mind. What was that light he had seen? It had almost looked like a candle flickering. Was someone in Sasuke's old house? What kind of wanderer would choose to stay in the neglected place where nightmares had come to life for Sasuke long ago?
"How dare they intrude?" Naruto thought angrily. Then, he remembered Kakashi's words from earlier.
"Oh come on. It's been long enough since Sasuke left, hasn't it? I really think we should. Unless of course, you're frightened of the Uchiha clan's ghosts?"
Naruto stopped dead in his tracks with the house still several yards ahead. Could it be? Naruto found the concept of spirits lurking in his former teammate's home disturbingly believable as he stared at the forlorn building. He shivered involuntarily. He knew how to fight other ninja, demons, even giant snakes. But a ghost? He glanced up at the top of the house again and saw only darkness. There was no hint of the light that had been there a moment ago. Could he have imagined it?
"No," he told himself. "It was definitely real. There's something up there. And I don't care what it is. It still has no right being here!" The blonde felt that no one but Sasuke should inhabit the old house, and was angry at the prospect of any intruder, regardless of their plane of existence. His indignation and curiosity demanded to be satiated.
Naruto's gaze drifted to the the sky above. At some point, clouds had began to cover the night sky, obscuring the stars. As he stood there, he felt a drop of cold water splash onto his face. Thunder boomed in the distance. It was going to rain. Naruto was about to continue running when he had a thought.
"I should hide my chakra...and the chakra of the nine tailed fox just in case. I don't want any chance of detection. If there is a person up there, I want to catch them by surprise!"
Naruto was grateful that Tsunade had taken the time to teach him advanced chakra control. Two years ago, Naruto had been caught in a fight with a few missing nins from the sand village. He had gone to track them as a favor to Gaara. Naruto had quickly located the ninjas and was about to jump out of the bushes he had been hiding in to attack when he had been ambushed from behind. Apparently, one of the ninjas had been able to detect the chakra of the Kyuubi inside of the blonde, which Naruto had been powerless to hide. Although he had come out the victor in the battle, upon his return he had been berated by Tsunade for being so careless. She was astounded that none of the blonde's previous senseis had recognized that Naruto needed to learn to disguise the chakra of the nine-tailed fox in addition to his own. The fifth hokage had then decided to use her superior knowledge of chakra control to teach Naruto. Soon, the young jounin's chakra control was nearly unrivaled. He had easily become the strongest among the leaf village ninjas due to the sheer volume of chakra that he had access to. Now, all that training would pay off.
With all the chakra inside of him effectively concealed, Naruto dashed towards the Uchiha manor. Suddenly, rain began pouring from the sky in torrents. By the time he reached the house, he was soaked to the bone. He took the last few steps to the threshold of the manor. Reaching out, he grasped the doorknob and twisted. The door swung open and Naruto stepped inside.
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Sasuke tried to calm his racing pulse by taking deep breaths. His right hand trembled uncontrollably, and soon the candle he had been holding dropped to the floor.
"What should I do?" he asked himself. Should he keep waiting? What was Naruto doing? Closing his eyes, Sasuke felt again for the blonde's chakra, and was surprised to find that he could no longer sense it. That meant that either Naruto had left the immediate vicinity, or that he had hidden his chakra. But why? Was it possible that Naruto had seen him? The raven haired ninja knew he should venture outside and find out what his former teammate doing and where he had gone, but he found the thought intolerable. He had the strange sense that if he left the house he would be fleeing from something.
"I won't run away again." Sasuke whispered. He drew himself even more deeply into the shadows. He'd wait a little longer.
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As Naruto shut the door behind him, a clap of thunder broke through the silence of the night. Water dripped from his clothing onto the floor.
"Damn," he thought. "I'm soaked. It's a good thing it's summer or I'd be freezing. Still, I'd better take off some of these wet clothes. If I have to fight, they'll only weigh me down." With this thought in mind, Naruto stripped off his chunin vest and the shirt beneath, then stepped out of his shoes. He left his shirt and shoes near the door, but grasped his vest in his left hand. He couldn't afford to leave behind the weapons and supplies he stored in the many pockets.
Naruto began treading quietly through the house. When he neared the large staircase situated in the center of the entryway, he leapt from the floor to the first landing, dropping silently to the ground. He repeated this maneuver until he stood at the top of the stairs facing the long hallway.
"Well, this is it," he thought to himself. He could see that at the end of the hall, there was an additional flight of stairs that led up through a passage in the ceiling. The jounin knew that these steps must lead to the room in which the strange light had come from.
The blonde suddenly felt very apprehensive. He paused to collect himself before venturing forward. Naruto was suddenly aware of the wet and cold forehead protector that was still tied around his head. He reached up and untied it, wanting to be as comfortable as possible for whatever confrontation lay ahead. He held the cherished object in his hand while he shook his head, trying to shake off as much water as possible from his golden locks. Then, he noticed that there was a large mirror hanging on the wall next to him. Naruto turned and faced the mirror. He wiped away the dust that coated its surface and peered at his image, wanting to reassure himself that he appeared relaxed and confident. It was dark, and Naruto couldn't see himself very clearly. He leaned in close to brush the strands of hair away from his eyes and get a better look at his visage.
A flash of lightening illuminated the pitch black hall for a moment.
Naruto's eyes became wide with disbelief as he stared. He waited.
Another flash came, this one even brighter, more electric.
A shiver crept up the blonde's spine. The forehead protector in his hand fell to the floor, coinciding with the clap of thunder that followed.
This time, he had seen it clearly. Reflected in the mirror was a bite shaped bruise on his neck. Naruto reached up with shaking fingers and touched the spot, remembering. Time seemed to stop as he stood there.
The shocked ninja turned and looked towards the flight of stairs at the end of the hall that led up to the attic. His feet involuntarily began moving, step by shuffling step. The stairs got closer and closer until Naruto stood at the bottom. His heart beat painfully inside his chest at an impossible speed. He gathered his strength and courage, fighting the hysteria of his conflicting emotions that bubbled in his throat. Somehow, he had known. Naruto tensed and then leapt up through the opening in the ceiling, foregoing the stairs completely. A moment later, he landed silently inside the room at the top of the house.
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Sasuke stood in the darkness, his back facing the entrance to the room. Suddenly his heart gave a painful lurch and his breath caught in his throat.
"Don't turn around," he told himself silently. "There's nothing there, there's nothing there..."
Naruto saw the shadowed figure standing against the window. He took a step forward, deliberately letting the sound of his foot hitting the floor echo in the silent room.
Sasuke gasped as his eyes widened and his body tensed. There was no denying it now. He didn't have to look to see who was standing behind him. In a moment of clarity, the Uchiha realized that he had wanted this. He had deliberately waited with the hope that the only person he cared about would come to him.
"You thought," Naruto whispered. "You thought I wouldn't find you?"
Sasuke slowly turned to face Naruto as the thunder crashed and the lightening flashed outside.
