Hey, y'all! Sorry I took ages to update. I was kind of busy. School stuff. Anyway, I'm REALLY overwhelmed by the number of reviews I got! Keep in mind I love you all and I REALLY REALLY REALLY appreciate your reviews! They bright up my day!

Last Chapter: It was stupidly short, I know. But this chapter will be longer, I promise. Anyway, it was kind of a cliffhanger last chapter where somebody said, "Who are you?" I'll let you guess who it is.

This Chapter: It's an encounter between Naruto a certain boy…

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The Encounter

"What the –" Naruto flinched. This was the perfect setting for a Halloween spook. Adding that to that creepy voice he'd just heard, he wondered who on this good earth would not be spooked out of their minds. "Who's…w…who's there?" he demanded, mustering his withering courage.

"Why are you here?"

"C-come out, you coward!" Naruto yelled, backing towards the bed.

"Who are you?"

Naruto spun around in a mad frenzy and saw a boy sitting on the bed. Had he been there before…?

The boy was in creamy white shorts that rode above his knees, and he had on a dark blue shirt with a hood that was lined with gray. It was obvious the underside of the shirt was cream. He was wearing standard black ninja sandals.

But it wasn't his clothes that stunned Naruto – it was the boy himself. He had pale, creamy porcelain skin that was far too feminine. His eyes were coal-black that rivaled that of his ebony hair that fell around gracefully around his face, and was slightly spiked at the back. His expression was a little questioning, and his head was cocked slightly. His features were so innocent, and with the radiance of a mere child. But he was clearly about Naruto's age.

"Why are you here?" he asked again. His voice was innocent, gentle and boyish. He was just too innocent to be true.

"I…uh, um…uh, I'm here to carry out an investigation," Naruto admitted at last.

The boy looked crestfallen. "You didn't come to play with me?"

Play with you? Play with you! Look at yourself, kid – you're twelve, like me! But Naruto didn't give his scornful remark to the boy, he just asked, "How old are you?"

"I don't know," the boy said.

"Aren't you seven?"

"Am I?" the boy looked confused. "Why do you know things about me when I don't even know?"

"What's your name?" Naruto held his breath.

"My name…" the boy paused and looked at Naruto for a moment. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke. What about you?"

Naruto let his breath out. He felt like screaming. This boy died five years ago! This boy died five years ago! What the hell am I thinking! Why am I even talking to a corpse! Curse that old hag for making me do a mission like this! I'm talking to a dead boy!

"Err…I'm…Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto blurted out. "Err…are you real?"

The boy shrugged. "I don't know. But you look real to me."

"Well, I am," Naruto said. "Just hold still for a moment." He reached out his tan fingers and brushed them lightly against Sasuke's cheek, touching his black strands.

Warmth. Sasuke was warm. But, hell – he was dead, wasn't he? He looked so alive. Is this what ghosts are like? Talking, animated…and warm?

"Sasuke…right?"

Sasuke nodded. Then, he asked, "What are you investigating?"

"You," Naruto said truthfully. "Are you here alone?"

Sasuke nodded. "Nobody is here anymore."

"Where is everybody?"

"I don't know," Sasuke said. "I'm waiting."

"For what?" Naruto couldn't resist asking.

"My Niisan," Sasuke said, as if it was the most common thing in the world and Naruto was a complete idiot not to know. "Niisan is coming back."

Niisan…Niisan…Itachi! What the hell! Doesn't this kid know that the one who killed his family – hell, killed him – is that cursed Uchiha Itachi?

"Sasuke…do you know…why you are like this?" Naruto asked, trying to be as gentle as possible. Maybe he doesn't know he's dead…

To his surprise, Sasuke snapped angrily, "I do!" Naruto was a little taken aback. He flinched. He had a sudden vision of a hundred vampires chasing after him with a ghastly horde of bats flying behind. "I'm not stupid!" Sasuke went on quite obstinately. He looked childish and perfectly adorable – the perfection of pale innocence but at that moment, Naruto was mainly thinking how he would die in this boy's hands. "I know I'm dead!"

Naruto got back to reality. "I…I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. I just thought…" he trailed off. Sasuke was looking at the ground and the air in the room seemed to give fifty times thicker.

"I know I'm dead," Sasuke whispered. "I know. I don't eat anymore. I don't drink anymore. I don't breathe anymore. I don't sleep anymore…I know…I know…because Niisan killed me."

"Niisan?" Naruto's eyes widened. He does know who killed him, after all!

"He killed Mommy, Daddy and…" Sasuke looked at Naruto with such an expression that made Naruto's heart break. "He killed me."

There was silence. Then, Naruto broke it with some determination and less fear. This boy was harmless. He was just a kid – just a child who somehow looked twelve. He was only a boy. "Why would he?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't know."

Naruto frowned. If the kid knows, why isn't he mad with that damned bastard? "Don't you hate him for it?" he asked.

Sasuke shook his head. "No, he's my Niisan. I know he killed Mommy and Daddy and me, but he is still my Niisan. Mommy says people can change. And Mommy says that the greatest liberation is to forgive."

Jeez, he was brought up in a sentimental home… Naruto looked at Sasuke. "Why didn't you go with your parents?"

"I don't want to," Sasuke said. "I want to wait for Niisan. He'll come home one day. I know."

"What if he doesn't?"

"He will," Sasuke said, a tone of determination. "Niisan isn't bad."

Yeah, he's so good that he killed you. You silly boy…you really don't understand anything, do you? Don't you realize that you're waiting for your greatest enemy? Your murderer? Naruto really didn't understand the kid. He was so innocent, so naïve.

"Why are you investigating me?"

"Are you making funny noises here?" Naruto asked.

"Noises?" Sasuke cocked his head. Damn! He's so cute when he does that! Naruto thought heatedly to himself.

"Like, laughing or crying," Naruto said.

"Don't you laugh and cry?" Sasuke asked innocently.

Yes, I do. But I don't wake the entire neighborhood up when I laugh or cry! "Well, never mind. Aren't you lonely here?"

Sasuke nodded. "I want to wait for Niisan, but I feel lonely here. It's sometimes very scary. There's nobody here but me."

"Then why don't you go?"

"Because Mommy says people can change," Sasuke said flatly. "And Niisan can change!"

"Sasuke, I don't mean to be rude or anything…but," Naruto swallowed hard. "If he was your brother, would he have killed you and your parents?"

"Are you saying Niisan can't change?" Sasuke asked.

"I didn't say that," Naruto figured he'd better rephrase his question in simpler times. "I'm just saying that it's very…weird that you would wait for the person who killed you."

It seemed that the world had crashed down in between them. Naruto was feeling guilty and Sasuke looked a little thoughtful. The air was thick and heavy, and it was crushing Naruto.

"Niisan…" Sasuke whispered, his voice timid. Then, it grew louder and more determined to prove Naruto wrong. "May have killed Daddy. He may have killed Mommy. He may have killed me! But I know…I know! Niisan always said he loved me! He always said that he did things for the best! I know he did things for the best!" Sasuke glared at Naruto, making the blond flinch. "Niisan would never do anything without a good reason."

Naruto wondered if he would ever be endeared to his murderer. How can he love his brother even when he killed him? This is just…not right. But he's only a boy…he's only a boy…he can't understand yet…he's only a boy…

"Sasuke," Naruto whispered. "I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't want to…"

"I know," Sasuke whispered. He cocked his head. "Do you have to go?"

Naruto looked out of the window. He had to report to Tsunade-bachaan now.

"Yes," Naruto said. "I'm afraid I have to go now. I need to do something now."

"Will you come back?" Sasuke asked.

"Do you want me to?"

Sasuke nodded quickly. "Will you come back to play with me?"

"Of course," Naruto said. He smiled. Then, he slowly reached out and stroked Sasuke's cheek. "That's a promise. Okay?"

Then, Sasuke gave him the most beautiful smile Naruto had ever seen.

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How was that? Was it long enough?

I'd like to explain, "The greatest liberation is to forgive". It's not my original saying. It's a Chinese saying, okay? I learnt a lot while I was in China. I translated it the best I could, with some help from my chums.

I'll be updating as soon as I possibly can. I'm really busy and I have to squeeze my stories into my tight schedule.

Love you all! Don't forget to R & R!