Fandom: Naruto
Author: Snow Tigra
Pairings: SasuNaru
Warnings: Horror, as usual and Alternate Universe. The rest is up to my muses
Chapter 2
A morning starts like this. You wake up and stumble out of bed, wandering down the hall until you reach what your blurred mind might recognize as the kitchen or some semblance there of. If you're more awake you might stumble toward the bathroom first and take a shower, but generally it's the bathroom that sees first light and first wakefulness.
Wandering hands and yawning somehow manage to not hinder the look for food and soon you're sitting at the table with a bowl, milk and spoon, your mind awake enough to coordinate pouring the cereal without it landing on the table or floor instead of in the bowl.
Naruto let out a large yawn as he set the cereal box back down and glanced at the bright colors on the packaging. It sporting some name sounding far too healthy to be real food, but the picture on the outside looked like raisin bran… so it had to be raisin bran, right?
He poured on the milk and tried it.
Not a chance in hell.
He crunched on the cardboard and rubber that were obviously more health then food, before finally retreating to the sink and spitting it out, taking great joy in running the garbage disposal and watching it kill the poor excuse for cereal. He quickly closed the box and tucked it back up into the cupboard before beginning his search, again, for something to eat.
"You would think, with these guys being rich, they could at least afford real food. Iruka never buys the good cereal with the brand names. You'd think they'd have at least something!"
A soft snort came from the far door to the kitchen and Naruto didn't have to glance over his shoulder to know it was Sasuke. Sasuke's vocabulary was significantly shortened in the morning, least before he woke up completely. Naruto just smiled lightly and said 'morning' before looking into the next cupboard for food. He finally settled for toast with some homemade 'natural' version of jelly which actually tasted a step better then the fake stuff he was used to.
"We better find some real food here fast, I don't want to have to buy groceries the entire time I'm here. That would suck."
"They probably have some freezers or something in the basement with enough food to feed a continent." Sasuke opened the fridge and scanned the contents, then grabbed a can of pop and sat down across from Naruto, not even bothering to find something solid. Sasuke was one of those people who didn't touch solid food until well past noon.
"What's this?"
Naruto glanced up to see Sasuke holding the photo he'd found the night before. He shrugged. "I found it last night on the way to the bathroom. I think it's some stuffed animal."
Sasuke tilted the picture and then tilted his head in the other direction. "It looks like someone dropped the camera… or maybe accidentally hit the button without planning to take a picture. There's a foot back there."
"Huh?"
"Right here, see?" Sasuke pushed the photo across the table and Naruto licked the jelly off his fingers before picking it up. It still looked like a blurry stuffed animal eye to him, but after looking a bit longer he could see Sasuke was right. The stuffed animal didn't take up the whole photograph, and very unfocused in the background Naruto could make out what appeared to be floorboards and something that slightly resembled a house slipper, attached to a leg.
"Huh, weird. So, I figured today I was gonna explore some more, maybe find the animal this is from."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Whatever, while you do that, I'll go practice."
"You still won't beat me…" Naruto remarked in a sing-song voice, a huge mocking grin crossing his face.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed to a glare and he stood up, making sure to give Naruto the finger before disappearing out of the room, leaving Naruto to his measly breakfast and exploring.
Exploring a place, normally, makes it smaller and more manageable. Once you become used to the twists and turns and stairways and rooms and many many doors, your mind starts to sketch out a map and soon it isn't nearly as bad as it used to be. However, in this case, Naruto seemed to get only more confused. By the time he reached the third floor the map in his mind resembled a 3 year old's definition of art drawn in a bright red crayon. He knew there were more rooms, but anything resembling order still eluded him.
A handful of hours later in his exploring and Naruto was finally exploring the back wing of the third floor. The area he found himself in seemed to be another wing of guest bedrooms or what might have once been guest bedrooms. One room held music stands and shelves of music, with a large grand piano, showing how someone in the family obviously loved music.
Beyond that was a room decorated in old cars with models and paints strewn around, the occupant obviously having been engaged in one project or another before their family decided to fly south for the winter.
Finally, at the very end of the hall, Naruto found a play room.
The door opened with a squeak of disuse and Naruto was greeted with the musty smell of mothballs and fabric toys that hadn't seen enough air or day light. Dust covered the hardwood floor in a light layer and toys were arranged around the room, all old and stuff and quite a few were patched from many years of love. Decorating the walls of the play room was a four sided mural of a beach, completely with sand castles and birds and even a dock reaching out into painted blue water.
Naruto smiled a bit and stepped into the room, glancing at the toys and animals. What ever kid had used this room had loved it quite a bit. Scuff marks revealed themselves under the slight layer of dust and when Naruto looked closer at the murals, he found they were old and worn, flecks of paint peeling off the walls.
A pile of stuffed animals in the corner caught Naruto's eyes and he couldn't resist stepping over to them. Kneeling in front of the worn bears and bunnies and dolls he pulled the photo from his pocket and glanced at each one.
It didn't take long for him to find a match.
"Bingo," he whispered softly, setting down the photo and reaching forward to pick up the bear. It was a simple design, very little shape save for a head, body and limbs. A single glass bead remained for an eye, while the other side of the face held a blank spot with a loose string, having lost its eye from time and wear. The bear's fur might once have been a dark brown, but now it was a dull sandy color, making it almost a perfect match for the room. There was also the strange fact that the back had a design of red splotches which looked like someone had spilled kool-aid over the back of the bear.
The sound of soft footsteps scampered across the floor behind Naruto.
Naruto blinked and stood up, turning slowly to look around the room, but same as the night before, he found nothing. He glanced back at the bear, then reached down to pick up the picture.
His hand stopped as he heard the sound again.
This time Naruto set down the bear and slowly turned his head, moving as little as he could to not surprise whatever was behind him.
Standing behind Naruto, dressed in a loose t-shirt and a pair of overalls, with one strap dangerously close to coming undone, was a little boy who couldn't be more then ten years old. His hair was a dusty red, the color muted in the light over head, cut unevenly around his face to give him a wild look as if he stepped off the set of Peter Pan as a member of the lost boys, or a child from the Jungle Book. His eyes were a matching muted green, looking as if the dust were actually creating a layer over his irises, kept in by the large wrinkles and dark bags under his eyes. The child looked on the verge of falling asleep at any second, but at the same time the effect made his eyes look too big for his head and they seemed to stick out a little too far, like a bug of some sort.
The boy wore no shoes and his feet were faded, being the only clue to the fact that he certainly couldn't be human. And the final touch? The boy was holding the bear from one hand… and suddenly Naruto wasn't.
Naruto swallowed, only able to really look at the boy. He couldn't think of anything to say and his mind was still wrapping around the idea of what he was seeing. No real feet? A sleepy, and creepy look? Children that appeared out of nowhere following strange sounds?
He couldn't possibly be looking at a ghost… could he?
"Uhh…. Hi…" Naruto winced at how weak his voice sounded. Brilliant. Yes, very brilliant.
The little boy didn't say anything in response, but instead tilted his head, giving Naruto a quizzical look.
"That your teddy?"
The little boy nodded.
And from there Naruto wasn't sure what to say. What do you say to a ghost boy who just suddenly decided to pop up in front of you? Was there even really anything you could say except be freaked out? Freaking out sounded pretty good right now, Naruto decided.
"Oh, well… ok then. I… I'll let you play with him then… s-see you later." Naruto inched back toward the door and groped for the handle without taking his eyes off the boy.
The little boy didn't seem to react at first and instead just watched him inch away. But as he went Naruto noticed the boy's eyes were widening, very slowly. Then his mouth suddenly opened, far too large for any child and his face distorted to an almost grotesque look of horror, followed by a scream that sent Naruto bolting from the door and stumbling down the stairs covering his ears as it vibrated through his scull.
"MOMMY!"