A Naruto Christmas Carol Chapter 4, a naruto fanfic

"What kind of name is that?" demanded Sasuke. All I could do was shake my head. Slowly I raised my hand and then made a squeezing motion. The effect was immediate as Sasuke put his hands around his throat and began to grasp for air. Soon he has on his knees.

"Do you feel that?" I asked him. "The last two ghosts you have seen were in charge of the past and the present. My realm is the future. What you feeling right now is the gasp of what awaits all people regardless of wealth or privilege."

"Oh," said Mihoshi. "Ah, boss, what is that?" Tick marks appear all over my face. I turn to face her while letting go of Sasuke.

"Baka!" I yell. "I am trying to create the right mode right now and you…you…go stand in the corner." Mihoshi begins to cry and runs toward me. Why, I have no clue. I have no desire to see what goes on in her head. As she runs, she trips on nothing and the stage light that was in her hands flies towards me and hits me in the head.

"I'm sorry," she cries.

"CORNER! NOW!" I roar.

"Does that happen often?" asks Sasuke as we watch Mihoshi run to a corner.

"More than you could ever realize," I say with a sigh. Now that Mihoshi was out of the way, I could continue like I had planned. So with great pleasure, large black wings erupted from my back like Valgaav's. And from those wings, there came faces and hands trying to get out but it appeared as though they were held back by a thin sheet of plastic. They screamed and hollowed trying in vain to free themselves from what was their fate. My arms also changed, becoming larger and black. On my shoulders there appeared layers of spiky scales and on my elbows were a single bony spike each. The hands were black with razor sharp claws. And from my head grew a single horn.

I looked down at Sasuke and he was trembling. It was little wonder. I hold within me the power of the Sith, the dragon race, and the power of the Demon Dragon King. Of course I was holding back two other power sources or else I would damage everything in the area. Kami it is so tempting right now.

"Spirit," gasped Sasuke. "I fear you more than any other that has come before. Whatever you have to show me, please do so."

"Oh, I will show you," I said as the mist began to rotate around the two of us. As it turned, a screaming sound was heard all around that pierced ones soul as if being stabbed into the heart. Soon the mist began to slow down and faded into nothing. Now Sasuke and I stood near the south gate of the village. Standing there was Nara Shikaku, his son, and two other men who appeared to be of great importance for they were dressed in the finest robes that bore the seal of the Daimyo.

"He's dead," said Shikamaru.

"We know that," reported one of the nobles. "What we came here is to find out why!"

"Murdered in his sleep," replied Shikaku with a small grin. "Personally, I thought he'd never leave."

"This is no time for such talk," replied the other noble. "We are at war right now. Without him, we truly are finished." At that, Sasuke seemed to perk up a bit more. Slowly, he walked towards them to find out who they were talking about.

"We were going to lose anyways," muttered Shikamaru. "That bastard of a Hokage started this war and then cut all ties with our only ally. We are outnumbered three villages to one. All we can do now is wait for the end really. Troublesome."

"Most likely it'll be a cheap funeral," said Shikaku as he watched his son light a cigarette. "I can't think of anyone who will go."

"I might just to make sure he's dead," said Shikamaru as he took a puff. "Maybe even use the time to stare at the clouds."

"How can you two just stand there so calmly?!" demanded the first noble. "Our enemies will be here in less than a week to destroy this village. Then the entire country will suffer." Shikaku grabbed the noble by his robe and lifted him up.

"Listen," he said calmly. "We've known this day would come since the day Uchiha Sasuke was named Hokage. The entire village knew it and tried to tell the Daimyo. Tsunade had been trying to tell him that for years, but he never listened. We have done everything that we can do and all that is left is to say good bye to our loved ones before we all go."

Sasuke stood there in utter shock. He was hearing that his plan was working like he had wanted. The village would soon be destroyed. But, the entire country would suffer as well. And the villagers looked as if they had accepted their fates. All the things he should have been feeling weren't there. All that was there was a hollow, empty feeling.

Another thing was bothering him. Who was this person they were talking about? Was he really so important and hated at the same time?

"Man. I would hate to be that guy," I said as I watched Sasuke. A smile appeared on my face. "Would you like to know who it is?" Sasuke nodded and all of a sudden the world became a black nothingness. There was no ground, no sky, no wind, no sun, no clouds, no people, there was just nothing. And I just hovered in it as I listened to Sasuke scream as he fell into the void.

When Sasuke landed (and he landed hard!) he found himself in a bare room. The room had four walls and a window on each one. However, there were no doors or anything else. Also, outside the windows was more of the black nothingness. Only one item was in the room and that was a bed in its center. On the bed was a body under a sheet.

"Spirit," began Sasuke as he gulped. "Who is under that sheet?" He jumped a little as I appeared behind him and placed both of my clawed hands on his shoulders. I leaned in a bit closer so that my mouth would be right next to his ear.

"Why don't you go over and find out?" I whispered. Sasuke hesitated and trembled. "Very well then. I guess you're not ready."

"Spirit, surely there must be someone this person was useful to," said Sasuke. A smile appeared on my face.

"Useful, such a meaningless term when talking about someone's life when they are now dead," I said. "Even the most useless person can have people who care about him more than someone who is useful. But I will grant this request of yours. See how people thought him useful." With that, with my claws still on his shoulders, I flung him around and out a window. But Sasuke crashed through it, he did not fall into the darkness, but instead he found himself in a pawn shop. In the room stood there people. The first was the clerk behind the desk. The other two people he had known very well. It was Anko and Ibiki. He had fired them both after he decided to shut down the Torture and Interrogation Department. No enemy was to be captured for any reason; they were all to be killed on the spot. With that logic in mind, there was no need for people such as these two before him.

"Ah," cried the clerk as he spotted the two. "Back from the house of sorrow, aye Anko-chan? Ibiki-san?"

"The only sorrow there is that he wasn't killed years ago," grumbled Anko. No longer did she wear her trench coat or fishnet undershirt. She was dressed in a torn up civilian outfit that was too large for her and full of holes. Plus the odor it gave off made Sasuke want to vomit. It was as if she had been sleeping in manure for the last few years. Ibiki didn't look any better. He had fresh scars all over his face and was missing a leg.

"I managed to get a few things off the bastard's corpse," said Ibiki. He then took out a scroll and began to unseal several items one after another.

"Bed sheets," said the clerk as he lifted the first item. "With the rings still attached, how nice. Oh and what have we here." The man was now looking at a nice shirt that Sasuke could have sworn he had seen somewhere before.

"Can you believe they were going to bury him in that?" Ibiki sneered. "I took it right off his corpse. He doesn't need it anymore!"

"I got some goods as well," said Anko as she pulled out her own scroll. She began to unseal several smaller things like a watch, awards made of gold, and a MP3 player. The last item was a blanket which the clerk seemed to take an extra interest in.

"Anko-chan," he cried. "This blanket is still warm!"

"Yeah," she said with a laugh. "It was the warmest thing that asshole ever owned!" With that, they all began to laugh.

"Spirit please," begged Sasuke as he turned to face me. "Tell we, I am the reason that this man is hated so? Is that why you show me these things?"

"Of course. Who else could cause such problems to a single man?"

"Then please Spirit, show me something more pleasant in this future. There has to be some good here. Show me friends, family."

"Friends!" I laughed. "Family! Are you sure you want to see them in this future?"

"Of course Spirit," said Sasuke. "Let me see Naruto. Surely ever this poor soul will be mourned by him."

"Very well." And with a sweeping gesture, we were taken to the home of Uzumaki Naruto. However, it had changed since Sasuke had last been there. The floor was now covered in sake bottles. Cobwebs willed the ceiling as if no one lived there. But alas there was one person in the house and that was Naruto himself. He just sat at the dinner table with a bottle in one hand. Sasuke could see the dark circles around his eyes as clear as day from his lack of sleep.

"Spirit, where is everyone else? Where is Hinata?" asked Sasuke. I replied not in words, but moved one of my wings in front of him. Images began to appear on my wing until it showed Hinata bound, standing before the village council.

"Uzumaki Hinata," said the lead councilmen. "You have been found guilty of the crime of murder!"

"WHAT!" yelled Sasuke. "No, that's impossible. Hinata is simply not capable of doing something like that."

"But she will," I said. "She will kill him while he sleeps. He will suffer all through the night, gasping in pain, begging for help that will not come. And only when he is dead will she be taken into custody. That is her future."

"But what of her children?" asked Sasuke. Once again did the images return to my wing. This time they showed two corpses being given to Naruto and Hinata. The corpses of their twin daughters. Both of them had been slashed multiple times and there were bruises all over their bodies. And from the image came Sasuke's voice.

"During these times of war, we need more people on the front line. So from this day forward, all academy students will be assigned D and C class missions."

"It was a true tragedy," I said as the images of Naruto and Hinata began to break down and cry. "You sent them on a C ranked mission on their first time out of the village. They were to go as decoys and the enemy fell for it. Sadly, once they realized this, they were very angry. So they killed those poor little girls."

"And…" began Sasuke but he did not finish. For as he spoke, his eyes fell upon the crutch that no longer had an owner. It simply rested in a corner, covered in dust. Tears began to fall from Sasuke's cheeks as he walked over to it and try to grab it. However, he was like a phantom here and as such his hand passed right through it. He then turned to face Naruto.

"So now do you understand," he said as he wiped the tears away. "This is what it feels like to lose everything that you hold dear. Now you understand what I went through, being powerless to save the people you loved. To know what you had and to know it'll never come back. You must want revenge, don't you?"

Naruto said nothing for he could not hear a word that Sasuke said. His eyes, however, did rise to look at the crutch and tears began to fall from his face. Then, with great force he threw the bottle of sake against the wall. He then slowly rose up and went to a side of the room and began to search for something. He opened cabinets and looked behind shelves, in search of something. As if Sasuke was growing impatient, or tired of watching Naruto look for his missing item, he walked over to me and gave me his full attention.

"Let us move on Spirit," said Sasuke.

"No. Something is about to happen."

Sasuke was about to say something when a sound turned his attention back towards Naruto. He turned around and gasped in shock and horror. Naruto was now standing on a chair with a noose around his neck.

"What are you doing?" demanded Sasuke. But Naruto didn't hear. He couldn't hear. His eyes were only half open as he stared at the crutch that had belonged to his only son. "You can't do this! Don't you want revenge? Don't you want to take your hatred out on me?"

"It's all my fault," whispered Naruto as he continued to stare at the crutch. Sasuke stopped yelling, his jaw open. "If I had only been stronger, they might still be alive. If I hadn't been so stubborn, they might be alive." Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Naruto," came Sakura's voice. "I'm worried about you. Can you please open up?" Naruto looked at the door and then back at the crutch. With a final tear, Naruto kicked the chair from under his feet. He died instantly. Upon hearing a snapping sound, Sakura broke down the door to find her old teammate hanging from the ceiling. She and her husband, Lee, ran in to try and save him not knowing that they were too late.

"Are you happy?" I asked. Sasuke turned and glared at me.

"How the hell can I be happy with this?"

"Isn't this what you wanted? To see him broken? You did everything in your power to hurt him, to make him feel like you felt so that he could know your pain. You starved him and his family. You withheld medical treatment from his family. You will knowingly send his surviving children to their deaths. And he still doesn't blame you, only himself." Tears were rolling down Sasuke's face.

"I didn't want it to be like this."

"Maybe seeing your nephew might cheer you up." Sasuke brighten at that. With a single hand gesture, I brought the two of us to an alleyway. Sasuke began to look for Susumu frantically. Sadly, he found him surround by three others.

"You little brat," said the leader of the group as he picked up Susumu with one hand. "It's all you Uchiha's fault that this village is going to be destroyed." He then threw Susumu to the ground. As the boy hit the hard earth, he bounced and then laid face down.

"Don't think we'll let you get away that easily," said the second as he kicked the boy like a soccer ball into some trash cans.

"Let's finish this," said the leader as he pulled out a kunai.

"Yeah," said the other two. Susumu, bleeding and in pain tried to scream for help, but he couldn't. They were already upon him like a shark on its prey. And when they left the body that was left behind was so mutilated that Sasuke began to vomit.

"No," Sasuke began to repeat over and over. "Why? Why did this happen to him?"

"Oh, so now you care about him." Sasuke glared at me with anger in his eyes.

"Of course I care about him. He's my nephew!"

"So where have you been all his life?" To that, Sasuke said nothing. "You never gave him the time of day while he was alive, so don't start crying now that he's dead. You had no real bond with him, and according to you the reason we suffer is because of those bonds. Isn't that right?" Sasuke's eyes widened as he remembered what he had told Naruto when he had run off to Orochimaru's. He then looked down at the child who had tried so hard to create a bond with him only to be rejected each time. He had never even given the boy a chance.

Once again, Sasuke found himself in a different location. We were now in a graveyard. Snow covered the ground and there was a heavy fog in the air. Nothing could be seen beyond a few feet. Yet we needn't go far for this part.

"Why are we here, DarthValgaav?" asked Sasuke. I smiled.

"To see that man's grave," I replied. "He is buried here, in this place were all are equal."

"You mean the man whose death brought happiness and joy?" ask Sasuke. I nodded and then pointed to a grave. Sasuke began to move toward the grave and then stopped.

"I have to ask you something," he said. "These things you have shown me, are they what will happen or might happen?" I simply smiled as I continued to point. Breathing hard, Sasuke moved towards the grave. Covering the name was snow which Sasuke wiped away and then gasped in shock. "It's…me?"

"Yes," I said. "Because of you, Kenta was never able to get the medical treatment that he needed and died. Then, after her two daughters died, Hinata killed you for revenge. And once you were dead, the village was left without anyone willing or able to take control. Now see the future you have created!" With a single flap of my wings, the fog departed and now Sasuke could see the entire village. What was left of it anyways. In the streets there were skeletons of men, women, and animals. Building lay in ruins and the plants were all dead. All that was left of this once great shinobi village was a ghost town.

"Spirit, why do you show me these things if I was beyond hope," cried Sasuke as tears fell down his face. This wasn't what he wanted anymore. Seeing it sickened him like nothing else ever had. "I am not the man I was. I will live my life in the past, present, and future. I will not shut out the lessons the spirits have taught me. Please tell me that the words on that tombstone can be erased." Sasuke closed his eyes as the tears continued to fall and when he opened them, he was home.

Relief swept over him like nothing he had ever experienced in his life. He had no doubt, lying in his bed, that what he had been through had been real. No dream could ever be like that. And no dream had ever made himself feel this good. Sasuke was so overcome with joy that he began to laugh and dance around in his room. Then, he rushed to the window and opened it. Snow was falling as people were walking down the streets. Then, he saw a girl with blue hair tied into pigtails.

"You there girl," Sasuke called out. The girl turned around and looked up at him. "What day is it?"

"Today?" she repeated, sound confused. She then gave him a warm, happy smile. "Well today is Christmas Day."

"It is?" asked Sasuke happily. That meant he didn't miss it. "The spirits did it all in one night!" Just then, he remembered the small meal that the Uzumaki family was going to be having. Well that wouldn't do at all. "Girl, do you know if the prized turkey has been sold yet?"

"The one nearly as big as me? No sir, it hasn't."

"A bright girl, an intelligent girl. Go and buy it for me! Do it and I'll give you a thousand ryos. Come back in less than five minutes and I'll give two thousand." And off the girl went like a flash, passing me by in the street. What, you thought I was done here? Hell no.

Four minutes and thirty seconds later, the girl received her reward and the turkey was sent over to the Uzumaki house. As she began to walk towards her original destination, she spotted me and stopped. Well, she didn't stop because of me but the person who was behind me.

"Mihoshi!" she cried out.

"Sasami-chan!" cried Mihoshi as she ran towards her. The two ran towards each other and began to hug.

"Merry Christmas Mihoshi," I said as I began to walk away. The two girls were brought out of their tearful reunion and looked at me. "You'll find the rest of the gang at the ramen stand." And with that, I left the Naruto world.

Back with Sasuke, he had headed out to meet with Tsunade. There was something he had to do. But along the way he ran into a familiar face. It was the man who had been collecting for the poor and homeless. Sasuke smile at him pleasantly as he walked over to him.

"I want to apologize for my behavior yesterday," said Sasuke. "I was wondering if I'm not too late to put in a donation."

"O-Of course not," stammered the man. Sasuke reached into his pocket and pulled out a scroll and then handed it to the man. In truth, he had been hoping to run into him today so he had brought all he could offer. The man opened the scroll and then gasped as he realized what it contained.

"Sir," said the man as he gulped. "This is the deed for the entire Uchiha district. Are you sure you want to just give this away?"

"I'm sure," said Sasuke. "I have not used it in years and it just sits there, empty. Perhaps you and your group can use it to bring joy to others. Merry Christmas." Before he could leave, the man hugged him. He then pulled away and smiled.

"And a very Merry Christmas to you," he said.

-x-

"People of Konohagakure," yelled Tsunade as she stood on top of the Hokage Tower. "Today is the day that I step down as Hokage. Seven years ago, it was decided that Uchiha Sasuke would replace me and now he is ready to take the title of Rokudaime Hokage." A sickening feeling filled her stomach as she watched Sasuke stand there, waving at the crowd that barely clapped. This was it, it was all over. But there was nothing she could do now. She had to give that traitorous gaki her office and title.

She turned to face Sasuke and he turned to face her. She then held out her hat, and once he took it, it would mean that he accepted the position of Hokage. Slowly, Sasuke's hand reached for the hat…and then pulled away at the last moment. Everyone gasped, wondering what was going on.

"I decline," he said. "There is someone far better suited to lead this village than I am. You don't need me to tell you who it is." And with that, Sasuke turned and walked away, leaving everyone speechless. But not for long.

"Hey Naruto," yelled Tsunade with a big grin. "Take the damn hat! Tonight I dine on sake!"

From that day on, Sasuke was never the same again. He was as good as his word and better. People would say that he knew how to keep Christmas in his heart all year round. He let Susumu move in with him and became his legal guardian. And to Kenta, who did not die, Sasuke became like a second father to him. Sometimes people laughed when they talked about the change in him and in his heart, Sasuke laughed with them.

And now, I leave you with the Ghost of Christmas Music. Enjoy!

It was almost Christmas time, there I stood in another line
Tryin' to buy that last gift or two, not really in the Christmas mood
Standing right in front of me was a little boy waiting anxiously
Pacing 'round like little boys do
And in his hands he held a pair of shoes

His clothes were worn and old, he was dirty from head to toe
And when it came his time to pay
I couldn't believe what I heard him say

Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time
You see she's been sick for quite a while
And I know these shoes would make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight

He counted pennies for what seemed like years
Then the cashier said, "Son, there's not enough here"
He searched his pockets frantically
Then he turned and he looked at me
He said Mama made Christmas good at our house
Though most years she just did without
Tell me Sir, what am I going to do,
Somehow I've got to buy her these Christmas shoes

So I laid the money down, I just had to help him out
I'll never forget the look on his face when he said
Mama's gonna look so great

I knew I'd caught a glimpse of heaven's love
As he thanked me and ran out
I knew that God had sent that little boy
To remind me just what Christmas is all about