Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the idea of such a stupid direction this story has to go.
Summary: This is a story full of mysteries and adventures. Set 13 years after their Heroic days, they begin their journey to...! -dead-
Chapter 2 (Unbeta-ed): Evil spirits can't stay dead
"So when did you get back?" Naruto asked as he gobbled down his third bowl of ramen.
"Just." Sai answered, not wanting to elaborate, concentrating much on his second bowl and refusing to be one bowl behind Naruto.
"Hmm...Does that mean?" Naruto saw no need to complete that question.
"Yes, he asked me to send you something." Sai paused in his eating, one hand reaching in his pocket to draw out a white piece of envelope.
Naruto who had also paused in his eating, drew in a deep breath and took the envelope from Sai's hand.
"It better not be what i think it is." he prayed.
"Um-hmm..." A Sai who returned to his bowl mumbled.
Naruto made a face and cringed at the thought of what might be in that fatal piece of paper.
Naruto - Do that once more where i can see or hear you and you can say goodbye to your future granchildren you never had.
He almost dropped dead into his bowl of ramen. All his appetite was gone instantly.
Sai slurped his second bowl clean and called out to the Ichiraku boss, "Another bowl of miso ramen please!" Apparently, he was going to win this time round, he thought cheerfully.
"Any idea when will be your next mission?" Naruto asked, as they walked home from Ichiraku. Sai had ate 5 bowls of ramen and Naruto stopped at 2 and a half. Thus, Naruto ended up paying for both their bills. This was their tradition all along although Naruto could never recall what had started it.
"Only about 2 weeks later," Sai smiled brightly at the reason for his free meal. Naruto visibly paled. Maybe, he really should avoid the grave grounds these 2 weeks.
"Ahhh!!! It's a ghost!" Maki exclaimed and proceed to make a grand show of fainting on the ground.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny." Naruto growled. He felt deprived. Horribly deprived.
"Ghost in broad daylight?! It's not possible!" Mai took over with a very fake look of shock on her face. Naruto glared at her.
"You're early." Takuma stated the obvious and the other two girls jumped up and glared at him for breaking the fun.
"Alright! We are not picking up missions now because i am not in the mood to babysit you three." Groans and mumbles of complaints followed. "But, we are going to learn something today."
Three pair of ears perked up.
"It's an exercise my sensei used to teach us and it took us quite a bit of time to learn. So i don't think you guys would suceed anytime soon since we were geniuses and all, thus, I will give you about this week to practise among ourselves and a test by the end of the week to monitor your progress!"
"So what are you gonna teach us huh, Uzumaki-Sensei!" The short girl bubbled excitedly beside him only to find out he was not so beside her anymore.
Actually, he was standing at a position perpendicular to the position they stood.
"This," He walked higher up the tall tree with great ease, "is what you guys will be able to do after this week." He grinned.
He sat by the clearings after instructing them on what to do to watch over their initial practice. But his thoughts were miles away from the practising brats.
Internally, he was fighting the urge to go to the grave to talk anyway, however the threat he received by an innocent looking envelope this morning shook him. Naruto knew that he was a man who meant what he said, ALL THE TIME. Deeply saddened by the thoughts that he could not go to the grave to talk to the dead any longer, he sighed. At least not these 2 weeks. 2 whole weeks! (It's more than saddening! It's feeling deprived! DEPRIVED, i tell you!) He could die of the frustration.
"Sensei! Not fair! Takuma could walk up half the length of the tree already!" Mai called out to him.
"Duh, of course! He's so much like Sa...!" He fell off the rock.
"Sensei!" Maki shouted, "You alright?!"
In his position behind the rock (that fallen down position where his ass was kinda high up in the air with the side of his face kissing the ground affectionately), he felt vaguely ill. It was that horrifying thought that was tickling at the edge of his conciousness, huanting him. No. It could not be true, No. He will NEVER ask. No. He will keep this secret to his grave. No. Just never. It is just not possible!
Slowly, he turned his head towards Takuma, only to be strucked, again, by the fact that not only he was just as outstanding as that bastard, he was certainly as smug as him too, if that smirk on his face was any indication. And the fact that he was far better looking than that supposedly father of his. (Of course that could be due to the fact that Naruto had always found Sakura pretty and he could have taken after her but he knows that it was only because he liked her and that it clouded his vision of her and thus it could affect his objectivity when it comes to her son but then again he had gotten over his crush so it should not affect his judgement not that he was clouded by his vision of her meant she was not pretty she was pretty but not so much that pretty than when he was having his crush on her and therefore it could only mean one thing and that was the one thing that he never wanted to think about but it just struck him one day and would not go away since he was not going anywhere anytime soon anyway and that he blurted it out in a moment of distraction mean subconciously just subconsciously he was very convinced in his conviction that he was...O. M. G...!)
Nooooooooooooo... ... ... ...
A few minutes later.
"Erm, so why did Sensei run away?" Maki asked puzzledly. Mai and Takuma shared a look and shrugged nonchalantly.
Then the three returned to what they were doing before like their sensei had never ran away. It was practice time anyway, and they sure ain't about to lose to one another.
AN: That internal monologue of Naruto was meant to be neverending. But you know how life never goes your way...