Disclaimer: Naruto love me because I get as scared as he does, but he hates Sasuke. Oh, and the two of them hate K. Masashi for being so mean to them and keeping them apart, but there's nothing they can do... until I steal them... muahahahahaha.

A/N: Please keep note of the time :P

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DAY ONE.

EIGHT AM.

Naruto stared up at the old, decrepit house before him. The damn thing looked just about ready to fall down. He just hoped it didn't decide to do just that on top of him. He shuddered at the thought of being crushed by the huge house, forever to remain within its rubble.

He felt someone shove him and he stumbled forward a step before turning around angrily, glaring at Kiba.

"Don't shove me, dammit! I'm going!"

"Then go." Kiba smirked. "Come on, we did you the favour of putting all your stuff inside already. We've been in there longer than you have so far. You're never going to win, at this rate."

"I will win!" Naruto screamed angrily. "Just you watch! I'm going to get through this week, and get to date Sakura, and go to the prom with the hottest girl in school!"

"Oh really?" Kankurou smirked.

"Yes, really." Naruto snapped.

"Well, go on, then." Kiba smirked as he tapped his watch. "Time's a wastin'."

"Yeah, we can't start timing you until you're inside." Kankurou insisted. "And look on the bright side, Naruto." There's a bright side? the blond thought, wincing. "The sooner you get in there, the sooner you get out."

"Fine."

"Fine. Go." Kiba insisted, turning him around and giving him another small shove. Naruto stumbled forward another few steps before stopping again. He took a deep, steadying breath before trudging purposefully towards the house. He climbed up the old, creaky steps and stopped in front of the door, which was still open due to Kiba and Kankurou having entered it mere minutes before.

"I can do this. I can do this." Naruto whispered.

With one last look back at this friends, both of them giving him the thumbs-up, Naruto turned back to the house, squared his shoulders, and walked inside. The second he was clear of the door, it slammed shut behind him. Naruto let out a shriek before covering his mouth and turning around to stare at the door. The wind! It was the wind, dammit! he thought to himself, annoyed. Shit, it hasn't even been two seconds! Get a hold of yourself, or else your chance with Sakura is non-existent!

Naruto froze and his eyes widened as he heard something creaking open down the corridor. He whipped around and stared, horrified, as one of the doors began to slowly inch open on its own. Naruto screamed before turning on his heel and running through the house, making enough noise to wake the dead. Don't think about that! he hollered to himself internally. Don't fucking think about that! Waking the dead! Fuck! Why did I think that?.! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

The blond ran into what he assumed was the living room and pressed his back against the wall as he breathed hard, his eyes wide and searching. He saw nothing, and could hear only the sound of his rapidly-beating heart. Nothing was coming for him. See? Nothing to worry about. There's nothing here. Just an old house that likes to spontaneously open and close doors, that's all.

There was a loud bang right behind Naruto, against the very wall he was pressed up again. He jumped a mile high before jerking away from it, staring at it wide-eyed. The banging sound came again. And soon, it was accompanied by the rattling of chains. All the colour drained out of Naruto's face.

An extra-hard bang caused the entire wall to shudder, sending dust and small pieces of plaster raining down. Naruto just screamed again as he took off through the house for a second time.

"Sakura! Sakura! Sakura! Sakura!" Naruto continued to scream to himself as he bolted through the house. He ran past an open door, skidded to a halt, and then bolted back for the room he'd run past, slamming the door behind himself. He ran towards the cot in the corner, realizing this was the room he was to stay in, and flew onto it. He grabbed the covers, threw them over his head, clenched his eyes shut and shook uncontrollably.

Outside, Kiba was staring at his watch.

"It sounds like he's being murdered in there." Kankurou scratched his head. "You didn't lay any booby traps or anything, did you?"

"Are you kidding?" Kiba smirked. "His imagination alone will scare him more than anything we come up with."

"This is true." Kankurou agreed. "How long has he been in there?"

"Two minutes."

"I say he doesn't last ten minutes."

"You're kidding." Kiba snorted. "He won't last five."

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Sasuke wasn't one to laugh. In all honesty, he found laughter to be an idiotic way of expressing one's immaturity, for surely having a barking sound emit from one's throat was the lowest of the low. However, upon seeing Naruto bolting through the house beneath him, screaming and almost in tears when Sasuke had barely started his torture—the raven couldn't help it. He'd started laughing.

In fact, he was laughing so hard he had tears streaming down his face. Crying was another no-no to the Uchiha, but he accepted the fact that Naruto was going to be making him do things that were uncharacteristic. He was all right with that. At least the idiotic blond was entertaining.

"My, my." Sasuke tried to control his laughter as he heard the voice over his headpiece. "Are you laughing, little brother? I thought such a thing was beneath you."

"Are you watching this?" Sasuke demanded as he tried to calm himself down. "It's fucking hilarious! He hasn't been in the house for two minutes, and he's already freaking out. The blond moron is hiding under his blankets, for crying out loud."

"You have to admire his bravery." Itachi insisted. "If he is really as frightened as you claim, then he is dealing with it admirably by staying in the house and not departing."

"No, he won't leave so easily." Sasuke grinned. "This is for his precious Sakura."

"You almost sound jealous." Sasuke's head snapped back.

"What?.! Jealous?.! Where the hell did you get that idea?.!" Sasuke demanded, anger creeping into his tone. "I don't care if he gets Sakura or not!"

"It's not him you're jealous of." Itachi's smirk was evident in his voice. "It's her."

"Wait, what the hell is that supposed to mean?.!" Sasuke snapped angrily.

"You'll understand in due time, little brother. Good luck." Itachi cut the connection, and Sasuke was alone again.

"Stupid older brothers." he muttered to himself as he stood up and headed for his bed to grab a book and read for a bit. "What the hell is that bastard talking about?"

Sasuke decided to ignore his brother's words for now, deciding to wait a little longer before torturing the dumb, blond idiot.

What Sasuke didn't know, was that his brother had recognized Sasuke's attraction for Naruto long before the younger boy had even decided he wanted to pick on Naruto way back in the ninth grade. Itachi was sharp like that, and every time he had the chance for Sasuke to get closer to Naruto, he encouraged it. Sasuke never showed emotions, and although Itachi himself wasn't one to, either, he didn't want Sasuke to grow up to be like him. Naruto seemed to be the only person who could make Sasuke feel anything, whether it was anger, or humour. Itachi was going to push this relationship as much as he could.

The fact that Sasuke unconsciously liked Naruto certainly helped Itachi a great deal. And what better way to make him finally realize it than to lock him in the same house as said blond for seven days? After all, Sasuke didn't know the front door slamming was Itachi's doing. He'd thought the same thing as Naruto: it was the wind. But in fact, it was not the wind, but a clever machine designed to close and lock all the doors and windows in the house until eight am on the eighth day, making it exactly seven days since the blond idiot stepped inside the house.

Itachi would not let his brother turn into another him. It was not going to happen.

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ONE-THIRTY-TWO PM.

"Sakura. Sakura. Sakura." Naruto chanted. He was still beneath his covers, his eyes clenched shut and his hands over his ears as he pushed the name out through gritted teeth.

This was all right. He could do this. All he had to do was stay beneath these covers for the next seven days. He would come out when he needed to eat or use the restroom, but otherwise, he would just stay where he was. That wasn't too bad. He could do this.

The blond almost jumped clear out of his skin when a loud shrieking sound made its way past his hands to reverberate in his ears. He was so panicked it took him almost ten seconds to realize it was his cell phone ringing.

Throwing the covers off himself, he scrambled across the room on his hands and knees, rummaging through his things for the phone. His hand closed around it and he pulled it out of the bag before hitting the talk button and putting it to his ear.

"Hey, Fox-Face, how you holding up?" Kiba's annoyingly cheerful voice rang down the line.

"I was doing just fine before you forced me out of hiding. What do you want?" Naruto scanned the room with his eyes, searching for anything out of the ordinary. I swear, I see a translucent head half-way through the wall, I am so out of here, he thought to himself.

"Well, the guys and I were wondering if you've done it yet." Naruto frowned.

"Done what?"

"Shit, Neji never told you?" Kiba started laughing. Naruto scowled. He was not happy.

"Never told me what, asshole?" he demanded.

"Okay, look in your bag. You should find Neji's digital camera."

Naruto grumbled as he held the phone between his shoulder and ear, rummaging through his bag with both hands until he found the sleek silver appliance. He pulled it out and stared at it, admiring how small and cool it looked.

"Okay, I've got it. Now what?"

"Well, the point of this was to show off your bravery, right?"

"I'm not going to like the next words out of your mouth, am I?" Naruto groaned. He could practically feel Kiba grinning.

"We've decided to have to take a picture of every room in the house, including the basement, and the attic—if there is one. The pictures have to be taken both during the day, and at night."

"No fucking way, that wasn't part of the deal!" Naruto hollered.

Sasuke, up in the attic, would've been able to hear that outburst even without the headphones he wore. Which was why he removed them and rubbed his ears painfully as Naruto continued talking.

"You said seven days in this house! That's what I'm going to do!"

"No one will believe you if you sit on your ass, cowering beneath your covers the entire time." Kiba insisted, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, do you really think Sakura will want to date someone who's a bigger pussy than she is?"

"Kiba, you can't do this to me." Naruto whined. "I'm scared enough as it is."

"Come on, be a man!" Kiba insisted. "It'll be over before you know it. Just go take all the pictures right now, and then wait until dark, and take them all again. Then, you'll be done, and you can spend the other six days cowering under your blankets. Good luck." Kiba hung up.

Naruto hurled the phone at the wall.

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THREE-FORTY-SEVEN PM.

Sasuke had to admit, he looked terrifying. He glanced back at the video monitors to ensure Naruto was still in his room, which he was. He often stepped out the door for a second before running back into his room and cursing colourfully. Sasuke smirked.

He wasn't intending on being seen by the blond, but with this new development, he was glad he'd bought all that Halloween make-up. He'd sprinkled some white powder into his hair to make it somewhat glow in the dim light of the house. He'd smeared white make-up all over himself to make his pale skin paler. He'd then ripped up one of his shirts in various places and torn a pair of his white shorts. He was sad about the waste, since he really liked those shorts, but figured it was worth it. He'd also bought a type of special glue that you could put on your skin and then rub slightly, to make it look like your skin was peeling. He'd added fake blood on top of that to make it look even worse. His last accessory was a bunch of chains he'd brought to make noises and scare the shit out of Naruto.

As he continued to inspect himself in the mirror, he wondered if he should wait until nightfall before going out like this, but then figured there was no guarantee Naruto would take the pictures that night, and Sasuke wasn't going to stay like that for long. The glue was itchy. Sasuke smirked to himself as he imagined the terrified look on Naruto's face as soon as the water started running when he went to shower. He figured he'd do it late at night. Maybe ten, just to scare him even more.

Sasuke glanced back at the monitors and noticed Naruto was leaving the room, walking slowly while looking around like a frightened child. Sasuke smirked as he made his way out of the attic, being sure to hide the entrance. The last thing he needed was Naruto finding out he was in the attic. That wouldn't go over well.

The Uchiha made his way slowly through the house, trying to make as little noise as possible, which proved harder than he thought, considering he had chains hanging off him. He could hear the blond whimpering by the time he reached the first floor, and was pretty sure it was coming from the living room. Now, all Sasuke had to do, was scare the crap out of him, and make sure Naruto didn't recognize him.

The Uchiha wasn't really worried about that, since he make-up did an incredible job of making him look sallow and ill. That, and the fact that Naruto would probably faint the second he saw Sasuke, anyway.

As the raven made his way slowly through the corridor, he smirked as he imagined the reaction he would get. He was wondering whether or not Naruto would faint, because really, he wouldn't put it past the idiot. Vaguely, one part of his mind wondered if it was really possible to die of fright. That would be inconvenient to Sasuke. He decided to check the blond for a pulse if he did fall over. Just to make sure he hadn't killed the poor bastard.

As the blond's whimpering became louder, Sasuke began his act. He let the chains fall loudly to the floor and began to drag him feet, walking slowly in Naruto's general direction.

The blond, for his part, froze with the camera half-way to his face. He'd been just about to take a picture when he'd heard the chains. It's your imagination, he insisted. Just your imagination. Take the picture, move on, get back to the safety of your blankets.

Naruto hastily took the picture before turning around. The sight that greeted him cemented his feet to the floor. His eyes threatened to fall out of his head and his heart had jumped out of his chest and run away, absolutely terrified. Standing in front of him, was a ghost—or a zombie, Naruto hadn't really decided, yet.

It was still coming towards him, slowly, shuffling its feet, the chains dragging along behind it on the floor. Its dead black eyes were locked on Naruto as the blond forgot how to breathe. Move, he willed his legs. Move! It's going to eat your brain!

The thought made Naruto's left foot move slightly backwards, but not by much. Slowly, as the—whatever came towards him, Naruto managed to move backwards until he was pressed up against the wall. His eyes were wide and his lips were turning blue from not breathing. He was so scared, he'd honestly forgotten how to breathe.

Sasuke watched Naruto intently as he moved forward. The blue tint to the blond's lips was a little concerning, but he knew CPR and mouth-to-mouth if the idiot managed to pass out from lack of oxygen. Then again, that meant putting his mouth over Naruto's. Ew. Sasuke didn't want to have to do that, so he picked up one of the chains and threw the end towards Naruto, aiming right beside the blond's head. It had the effect he wanted, the blond taking in an involuntary breath as he gasped.

"Get out!" Sasuke growled, drooling slightly for effect.

Naruto's vision started fading as his heart pounded in his ears. As the thing before him moved forward, his eyes finally just rolled to the back of his head and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Sasuke smirked as he straightened and strode purposefully towards Naruto, bending down beside him. He checked his neck for a pulse, just like he'd said he would, and was content to find one. The blond was fine, just passed out.

Sasuke decided to mess with him even more. He took a few chains off himself and wrapped them around Naruto in such a manner that he would be able to get out of them, but only after having calmed down. He knew the blond would panic immediately and start thrashing, which would be entertaining to watch. He then reached into the pocket of his shorts and extracted the small tube of fake blood. He'd brought it down just in case Naruto did pass out.

Reaching forward, he put some of the fake blood near Naruto's eyes, having it roll down his cheeks, like tears of blood. He then added more beneath his nose and at the corners of his mouth. It would make it seem like he'd coughed blood, had a nosebleed, and cried blood all at once. He would've considered putting some on his neck, but he was obviously not a vampire, so Naruto would know something was up—well, probably not, since he was Naruto, but still.

Sasuke stood and admired his work before turning and heading back towards the attic. He'd have to wait until Naruto woke up before showering. Then again, the raven thought with a smirk, he might just run for the door when he wakes up.

Sasuke loved being a bastard.

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EIGHT-OH-TWO PM.

Naruto let out a groan as he shifted gingerly. His neck hurt like all hell and his face felt a little sticky. He slowly blinked open cerulean eyes, looking around to figure out where he was. His half-mast eyes suddenly snapped open completely as memories flashed through his mind. He'd been attacked.

He went to stand, only to be halted in his movements. He looked down and had to stifle a terrified shriek as he noticed he was chained. He bit his bottom lip hard enough to cause it to bleed to stop from screaming. That would just bring it back to him.

Come to think of it, why hadn't the thing killed him? It obviously didn't want him there, so why just chain him up and then leave him be? It was a warning, he decided. It was warning me to stay out, so I still have a chance! I can escape, and everything will be peachy! PEACHY!

Naruto was starting to panic. He shifted gingerly to remove the chains, and bit his lip harder as they rattled loudly. He could actually taste blood in his mouth. He was going to bite clean through his lip, he knew it. All right, calm down! He ordered himself. First, remove your lip from between your teeth! Slowly, Naruto forced his body to obey his thoughts, grinding his teeth against each other instead of biting through his lip. It wasn't as comforting, but at least he'd still have a lower lip later. Okay, now, calmly try and extract yourself from the chains.

It took some doing, but Naruto finally managed to get himself free without causing too much noise. Point for him. He was ecstatic, but he wouldn't dare whoop or anything. That would be stupid, considering he'd spent so long trying to be quiet.

As he stood, he finally brought his hands to his face to find out what the stickiness was. When he brought his hand back to stare at it, he almost fainted. There was a red substance on his face. Two guesses what it was. Looking around, he found Neji's camera, which had obviously been dropped sometime in between seeing it and waking up. He grabbed it and aimed it at himself, taking a picture. He then turned it back around and glanced at the picture he'd just taken of himself. He nearly fainted again right then and there. Jesus Christ, he was bleeding! Everywhere! That's it! he decided. Sakura or not, I'm out of here! This is not cool!

With the decision made, Naruto turned and ran silently towards the door. He'd learned earlier that noise plus scary house equalled bad things. From now on, he was going to be quiet. Really quiet.

He reached the front door quickly and grabbed the handle. "Goodbye, creepy house." He yanked the door open. Only it didn't open. He just stared at it for a long while before pulling it again. He then put one foot against the wall beside the door, pushing off while holding onto the handle with his hands. Still, the door didn't give.

"You're fucking shitting me!" he burst out accidentally. "Kiba, you fucker, you did not lock me in this house!"

Naruto's head snapped towards the room his things were in as he heard his phone ringing. He ran for the room, wanting to silence the noise before it found him again. He slammed into the room and grabbed the phone, his hands shaking as he hit the talk button and put it to his ear.

"Kiba, tell me you didn't lock me in here." he whispered, his eyes wide as he looked around.

For a few seconds, all Naruto heard was breathing. He frowned slightly. "Kiba?"

"You're in my house." a voice whispered. Naruto's eyes widened. "You're trapped like a mouse." His grip on the phone tightened. "You've defiled my land." His hands shook uncontrollably. "With your filthy hand." Naruto backed up against the wall, sliding to the floor. "You better say goodbye." He began to hyperventilate. "Because you're going to die."

The line went dead.

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TEN-TWELVE PM.

Sasuke emerged from the shower in the attic, towelling his hair dry with another towel around his waist. He didn't have to worry about anyone seeing him, he was in the attic of a so-called haunted house.

He walked towards the video monitors, putting the towel in his hand around his neck and leaning forward. Naruto was still sitting where he had been hours before when Sasuke had made the phone-call. The raven had to admit, he was a little worried. Naruto hadn't eaten anything all day so far, and he was white as a ghost. His hand was clenched around the phone, his eyes wide as he stared at the opposite wall.

Sasuke was almost tempted to go down and shake the blond to make sure he wasn't paralysed with fear or anything. After all, if the house suddenly caught fire, it would suck if Sasuke had to go to Naruto and drag the idiot out of the house.

It was weird, but to Sasuke, seeing Naruto like this was highly satisfying. He didn't understand why he liked seeing the blond so scared. It was like he was able to say he spent seven days in a haunted house without batting an eyelash, whereas Naruto had spent seven days in a haunted house, only to emerge completely broken. The thought alone made Sasuke highly entertained.

"Oh, sweet, sweet silence." he whispered as he closed his eyes, imagining what it would be like. He'd arrive at school, and not have to hear that annoyingly cheerful voice the second he stepped foot in the classroom. He wouldn't have to endure all those annoying pranks and loud outbursts. No, it would be just calm, peaceful silence. No more crazy, loud, annoying Naruto. Just a poor little broken boy, afraid of his own shadow.

Yes, Sasuke was liking this.

The raven threw both towels into the corner of the room, having them land in a pile on the clean floor—he'd had the entire attic cleaned before setting up. He walked naked towards the small mattress in the corner, lying down on it with a sigh and staring at the ceiling. He turned to ensure his alarm was set properly before deciding to call it a night. Naruto wouldn't move for a while yet, so there was no point in trying to scare him. The blond would just close up even more in fear.

As Sasuke drifted off to sleep, he idly wondered why Naruto hadn't been able to leave. After all, he'd been watching the boys outside when Naruto had entered the house, and neither had locked the door. Wonder why he couldn't leave... The raven fell asleep, the thought trailing off.