BURN
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto
So here's chapter one. I'm working on chapter two and that might also come out tonight. We'll see.
More than one GHOST
(Chapter 1)
"Hokage-sama! The Jurninn you requested are here." Tsunade blinked rapidly and she put down a photo on her desk. Sasuke, Sakura, Neji and Kiba, the four requested Jurninn, all glanced at the picture before looking awkwardly away. It was of Naruto. They stared at their feet as they did not want to look at their Hokage or each other. They all new what they would see… it would be pain.
Naruto had been gone for almost 5 and a half years. There was so many unanswered questions and it was painful. The most prominent on their mind was 'is he dead?' But they were too scared to ask it aloud or to really contemplate it. Naruto was an uncomfortable subject.
Tsunade cleared her throat "You're here for your newest mission, however before I proceed. Have any of you heard of the new prodigy assassin GHOST?"
Everyone glanced around confused. Of course they'd heard of GHOST. Ghost was the highest ranked assassin ever recorded. And the fact that he didn't hold any alliances made everyone a bit nervous. "Well?" Tsunade asked.
"Yes." They all answered in unison.
"Good. Now please tell me, what you know about this assassin. You first Kiba."
Kiba gulped before saying "Popular belief is that he's made over 200 kills and he's only been in the business for three years. Also it has been said that he dose not hold alliances."
"To some extent. Tell me Sakura. Where is the one place he has never struck?"
"Well… umm… well-"
"Konoha." Neji answered for Sakura.
"And why would that be? Sasuke?"
"He has some connection to Konoha. Perhaps he's a missing nin."
"Good. Your mission is to identify and possibly recruit this assassin. However if that falls through, I'm giving you permission to either kill him or bring him here by force. Leave by sunset. You'll be going to the Village Hidden in the Rain. I have a contact there, which will set up a false assassination. Be on guard. There is no easy way to judge this assassin's specialties are. Now go!"
"Hai!" And with that all four Jurninn were gone.
As Sasuke traveled from roof top to roof top in order to avoid the fan girls who had collected at the base of the Hokage tower. He wondered where the dobe was now. He hoped the idiot was alright. The picture brought back painful feelings.
Suddenly a fan girl squealed as she noticed him escaping, soon all the girls were charging down the street following his progress. However, Sasuke sped up, leaving them far behind. He smirked… he wonder what they'd do when they found out he was gay.
XXXXX
The contact that Tsunade had mentioned squirmed in his seat. He sat in particularly shadowed seat closest to the bathroom. GHOST'S seat.
When would GHOST get here. Damn it. His contact who usually met with GHOST had reluctantly allowed him to take his place this night. The bitch of a Hokage, would skin him alive if he didn't do this right… but god was he freaked. They said GHOST was unlike anything you could imagine. It was like he wasn't human. That sent shivers down his spine.
"What have we here? You're not the usual… customer?" A low harmonic voice whispered in his ear. The man whipped around… but no one was there.
"A little jumpy aren't you?" The voice once again said. The man swiveled his head around, but no one was there.
"Stop playing with him." Growled a second voice. This voice sounded more animalistic than the first and the man froze as two red eyes appeared out of the darkness. The eyes blinked lazily.
"GHOST?' The man asked leaning as far back as he could, hoping to get a better look.
The red eyes squinted in amusement and a low chuckle came from the man's throat. "No… I'm not GHOST. I'm FOX. I'm GHOST'S manager."
"I'm GHOST." Said the low harmonic voice right in front of him. The shadows suddenly shifted and a slight form appeared. Along with two luminous soft purple eyes. Eyes that people could be sucked into. However the man before GHOST and FOX had yet to notice the eyes for he was panicking.
Had he just seen right or was he going crazy? The GHOST creature had just formed out of air? "Are you really a GHOST?" the man asked scared shitless. Hoping the answer would be no.
FOX chuckled as GHOST said "Perhaps I am? Hn?" The man stood up knocking his chair over and backed away hastily. He almost toppled right there onto the floor, when his legs connected with a low bench. Luckily someone caught him. He turned to look his rescuer and gulped when he saw the red eyes.
"Stop scaring the customer GHOST!" The red eyed man said. It felt more like he was growling the man thought, his back pressed up against the man's muscular chest. GHOST sighed and stepped into the dim lighting to left the 'customer' catch a look of him.
What the man saw was a breath taking beauty. The thinly muscled young man of perhaps nineteen, was tall and slimmed hipped. His short tousled sun-bleached blond hair was almost hidden beneath a white cloak. Angelic large purple eyes peered down at him from a perfectly sculpted face. High check bones, full lips, thickly lashed eyes, slim eye brows, narrow catlike chin and a roman nose, enhanced by his naturally honey colored skin made his face alluring. The man squinted at GHOST'S cloak, trying to imagine what was hidden behind it.
"Like what you see?" Asked GHOST. Now the harmonic voice sent shivers of pleasure up his spine.
"Umm… yah." Oh, god how lame was that! The man thought. God he was an idiot!
"Back to business." Growled FOX, "You can't fuck a CUSTOMER! GHOST."
"Hn." Ghost agreed. Damn it… he had really wanted GHOST to fuck him… Wait! what was he thinking, he wasn't gay? Was he? And GHOST was an top ranking assassin… oh, god those eyes. The man lost himself GHOST'S eyes for a second before GHOST faded back into the darkness of his seat.
FOX, let the man go reluctantly… he really didn't like this puny, weak little man. He smelt of trouble and lies. He'd rather crush his neck than let him go any where near his student and sensei.
The man pushed himself away from FOX and sat down at the table, still trying to get a glimpse of GHOST. FOX sighed resigned to the fact the his student and sensei had that effect on well everyone… including himself.
"So the assignment?" GHOST asked.
"Umm… well yes. There's a overlord in the Village hidden in the Rain, who has a rather large debt owed to my master and refuses to repay him. He's also threatening to inform the central government. So my master is offering you quite a bit of money, if you would get this troublesome man off of our hands."
"Hn?"
"Date of death?" asked FOX.
"A week from now during the full moon."
"Any tokens?" Asked GHOST quietly.
"What?" Asked the man.
"Does he want some of the corpse or does he want to leaving something?" FOX translated.
"No token." The man said paling. Yes he was definitely dealing with professionals.
"Type of execution?" Asked GHOST?
"… beheading." Was the fist thing that slipped into his mind. He cursed himself, hoping he hadn't just made a mistake that put the Hokage's shinobi at a disadvantage.
"Hn."
"Very well, we'll contact you for the cash after the full moon." FOX said before he and GHOST simply disappeared. The man sat looking at the spot the two men had sat in stupidly.
The bartender walked up to him cleaning a glass. "They have the kind of effect on ya." Now, would you like something to drink?"
Picturing the purple eyes the man said "Yah… a bottle of sake. The whole bottle." This was going to be a long night.
A CLEARING IN THE FOREST
"So what is the catch?" GHOST asked.
"What do you mean what's the catch? How do you know I know about a catch, Naruto?" FOX grumbled.
"Kyuubi, for heaven sakes, if there wasn't a catch then you would be grumbling more instead of sitting there quietly and thinking."
"Alright, there is a catch…"
"Hn?"
"You know Naruto, you really did up a lot from the Sasuke boy… like the whole Hn shit!"
"Stop changing the subject." Naruto said, his voice cold. Kyuubi knew it was dangerous to be around Naruto when he was cold like that. After all Kyuubi was human now… well a human with an incredible amount of chakra and.. Naruto was something he, Kyuubi, couldn't even put a name to.
"it's a trap. Konoha set a trap." Kyuubi mumbled.
"Speak up. I really can't hear you."
"It is a trap, a T-R-A-P. It's Konoha! I saw okay… the guy was an open book."
"You read the client's mind again?" Naruto asked amused.
"With the way he was looking at you…" Kyuubi mumbled. Naruto smirked and kissed the red head's forehead before dropping onto his bed roll looking at the sky.
"So, what should we do?"
"You, know it's impossible for them not to see you eventually in one identity or another… so it's really a pick and choose. Distracted them with one identity, while hiding GHOST'S."
"Hn?"
"Think about. If they see one side of Naruto. It would be impossible to imagine the other…"
"You want CRIME, to show up. You looser!" Naruto said sticking out his tongue childishly.
"Can't help it that I think your sexy, when you dance and sing. It make me feel all tingly in side." Kyuubi chuckled putting his most innocent face on… which really wasn't that innocent.
Naruto sighed… "Fine."
END… for now…
Please feel free to critique me… not to harshly though…
Thanx for reading…
-TK