Author's Rant: Finally, I finished chapter two of this fic that I'm still pretty hesitant about but- here we go! Even though dear god I've never done this type of genre before and I also didn't have it really planned out it just kind of happened so: there might be inconsistencies. I also finally figured out the month I want to write this in sooo- I changed that. I think in the first chapter, before I drafted this story, I might have wrote October- but in any case, I fixed it (edited), and it is now November so I'm sorry for the confusion.

If there are any more inconsistences, please let me know. Seeing as it's just...me, myself, and I checking my mistakes and it's extremely difficult for me to find my own faults. I apologize in advance.

Meeting the Client

Naruto would swear till he's old and crippled that it was love at first sight. That destiny brought them together. That the goddess named Sakura—with the cutest name he's ever heard in his life—was the universe's present to him for doing well on his recent midterm. But he urged himself to not get too excited, which was pretty much impossible considering his veins were naturally soaked in caffeine and zest, and tried to pay attention to her words. Not her kissable large forehead. Not her petite, snug-looking waist. But her words.

She was perfect.

With rich bubblegum hair that framed her baby soft face, stunning aquamarine hues that stood out from her other equally beautiful features, Naruto found himself drawn to her everything. Like her rose petal lips and her well-endowed- ehrm, upper regions. Well, actually, maybe the alcohol was impairing his sight, because as he got a closer look he noticed she was pretty tiny around the chest area. However, Naruto thought it was kind of cute. He wasn't very picky when it came to the bust. Honestly, she could be completely flat chested and he'd still think she was the hottest girl to grace the earth; and in that tight red skirt and white blouse, he was confident that the tightness in his jeans wasn't anything remotely supernatural. Gosh just where has she been all his life?

"...haunted?" Naruto repeated dumbly. Distracted.

Sakura clutched her handbag tightly and nodded her head.

"Yes...haunted."

Private Paranormal's stared. Naruto never choked like this in front of a women, but his voice was failing him as he tried to respond. Wondering if he heard her right. Hoping that his ears still worked because if need be, he would check himself into the doctors a.s.a.p. for fear of never hearing Sakura's angelic voice again. This was not happening. No way was he lucky enough to have his potential girlfriend, and potential case, casually walk up to him like this.

"If this is a scam, we're not interested." Came Neji's lethal tongue from behind, having composed himself enough (he recovered quickly) to waltz over and eye the young lady skeptically. Hinata followed in tow, Kiba leaning against the counter to snort. "Seriously, don't take use for fools lady. We ain't interested in bullshit."

"For once I agree with the savage. Don't waste our time if this is some cheap stunt to gain publicity. You won't find it here."

Sakura cringed, and Naruto had half a mind to beat the shit out of Neji and Kiba for being so rude, but she quickly straightened up and shook her head. Determined. Filled with genuine and earnest concern. "No, this is not a hoax. My home really is being haunted, and I need someone to do something about it."

"If it is, then why are you asking us?

"Huh?"

Neji folded his arms.

"Surely you can tell just by looking at us- we aren't professionals. If you're that worried about your home, why don't you call someone who's been at it longer, like an exorcist or a professional ghost whisperer. By the brand of your clothes I can tell that you come from money. It shouldn't be too much trouble for a women of your status to pay for such a thing."

"You can tell all that just by lookin' at her?" Kiba said snidely. "I dunno whether to find that cool or fuckin' freaky."

"I'm perceptive. You should try to be observant for once. Dogs live short lives, it might add on a few years."

Kiba snarled. Naruto couldn't believe his friends! They were scaring her away, and he needed to do something. Quick. Afraid that she would suddenly leave, Naruto gently grabbed Sakura's hand and glared at the two blind assholes behind him before smiling at her softly.

"Well, in any case, why don't ya come back with us and tell us allllllll about it? We're students at Roosevelt university, it's just a few blocks from here, and if ya come to our club room it'll give us some privacy. I don't think this is a really great place to talk, do you?"

Naruto looked around in a display of unease, hoping that Sakura wouldn't refuse the chance to get some one on one time to discuss her woes.

"Besides, I believe you." Naruto added with a grin, barbs of saffron head hair perking up as she returned the gesture with a very faint tug of her lips.

"...I guess that's alright." Sakura murmured cautiously at the chipper young man, noticing that everything about him encompassed optimism, boundless energy, and the sincerest regard for her well being. Sakurai couldn't shake the feeling that after this, everything would be alright; and as Naruto leaned down to stare into her eyes, all doubts that once flooded her mind were banished. She was lost in dazzling pools of blue.

"There won't be anything to worry about," the foreign beauty said impishly, flashing a smile that would rival the sun and the infinite cosmos."We'll take on this case, right guys?" He asked, looking over his shoulders at the others who had been watching his actions with a knowing sneer. Everyone nodded immediately, although hesitant, aside from a solemn Hinata. She sulked beside Neji. Wishing that Naruto would look at her the same way.

"Great! Now that that's settled, let's head out!"

Naruto reached for Sakura's hand again; that was, until he noticed something shiny on her left finger. "Sakura, what's that?" Now that he thought about it, it was stupid question to ask. Someone this gorgeous, a celestial being this damned stunning couldn't just waltz into his life without a catch. Sakura blinked and held up her left hand, a sudden warm smile spilling onto her dazzling perfection. "This? This is the ring my fiancee bought me. We're going to be married in a few weeks." Was the response that sent Naruto's world crashing down.

Naruto struggled to keep the smile on his face.

"...Eh heh, fiancee...huh."

Maybe he wasn't so lucky after all.

The walk back wasn't long, but it was uncomfortable. To say he didn't trade occasional glances at Sakura the entire time would be a lie, because he just didn't want to believe it. She was engaged. Naruto dug his hands into his blue jeans. He didn't even know the guy, yet he disliked him already for getting to marry someone as perfect as Sakura. What did her fiancee have that he didn't? What made him so special? It just wasn't freaking fair. Then again, to answer his previous question, Naruto was pretty broke. He worked a part time job at a Noodle and Company near his campus to finance his supernatural escapades, but was about as penniless as the hobo on the bridge at the end of the day. Club and school took up a lot of his time after all.

Naruto let out a long sigh that revealed itself amidst the chilly, November air. Well, even if she was taken...still couldn't stop a guy from looking, right?

When they arrived at the school it was pretty late, and he expected the club room to be locked but was pleased to find it wasn't. Naruto led Sakura inside and flicked on the lights. It was a small room, but it was cozy, and he swiftly led her to one of the cushy red bean bag chairs, sitting her down and offering her something to drink.

"Want some Sprite?"

"Uhm, yes." Sakura replied, taking the soda can from him thankfully. Her throat was a bit parched. She sipped on it quietly for a while before deciding to speak again. It wasn't that she didn't know what to say. She was just finding it difficult to articulate everything she's witnessed into words.

"So...do you really think you can help me?" She murmured sadly.

"I don't know the whole situation, but I can sure as hell try. Why don't ya tell us everything?" Naruto said, leaning against the club desk with the rest of his friends to observe her.

"It's really a long story..."

"And we've got a really long time. Isn't that right guys?" Naruto asked his friends with that obnoxious, blinding radiance that read: "you're going to listen to her for me because you're really good friends, right? right?"

Kiba didn't know how much time Naruto was talkin' here, 'cause he had somewhere to be: at home, in bed, and he was sure everyone else was thinking the same thing. But regardless of that, they nodded, even though they knew their friends conquest in love, considering the circumstance, would definitely sink not swim.

Sakura shakily exhaled. "Alright..." She didn't know where to begin, but she felt comfortable around Naruto somehow. There was something about him that she could trust. "Well...it really began a few months ago. You see...I've gotten engaged recently. Well- I guess it isn't that recent. My fiancee's parents and mine have known each other since birth, and we were betrothed to each other before we even knew what marriage was. So I guess you can say I've...gotten to know my fiancee recently."

"An arranged marriage..." Neji pondered out loud. "Huh. Not quite common anymore these days. I assume your parents are very old fashioned?"

"As were his..."

The past tense didn't fly by anyone.

"But, their was a terrible incident a few years back, and his family isn't around anymore. You see..."

Sakura's grip tightened on her purse.

"His whole family was murdered four years ago. I'm sure you've probably all heard about it at some point in the news. The Uchiha Family Massacre? It happened in the Gold coast."

"Wait, wait, wait- I remember hearing about that!" Kiba shouted, using a series of very inappropriate hand gestures to account for what he knew. "This guy's whole family got slaughtered over night. I think he was sixteen? His mom, pops, the whole sha-bang, gone in the morning while he was at some sort of smart-people's retreat. Gah...I think his name was Sasuke or something? I remember hearing his brother was behind it all and outed himself after he took everyone with him. It was pretty fucked up."

Jesus. Naruto felt his stomach churn. The guy must've been all kinds of messed up after witnessing something that terrible, and suddenly, Naruto felt like a dick for everything he thought earlier. Way to go Naruto, you were jealous of someone who's lost everything already. His parents, his entire family...gone. And here Naruto was, jealous because Sasuke had one good thing in his life? If anyone deserved to have Sakura, it was probably Sasuke. He sounded like he needed a little piece of heaven. Naruto silently prayed for forgiveness for being so incredibly, undeniably selfish.

"I'm impressed." Neji wisped with a light chuckle. "Someone who can barely remember to use deodorant can apparently remember a murder from four year's ago. How wonders never cease."

"Shut it asshole. So wait-" Kiba looked at Sakura disbelievingly, "you're tellin us your fiancee is Sasuke Uchiha? The loaded Sasuke Uchiha? Gold coast, millionaire, Sasuke Uchiha? And he's scared of ghosts?"

"No." Sakura giggled. "No, he's not. In fact, he thinks me doing all this and insisting the house is haunted is just a cry for attention." Sakura lowered her head. The sad look that encompassed her face was a look Naruto never wanted to see again.

"But you see...I've come to love Sasuke. I think I've always loved him, from the day my parents came into my room and showed me a picture of the boy I'd be marrying soon...I just fell head over heels for him. I know you probably think it's silly, but it was love at first sight." Her lips lifted slightly. Sakura brushed a stray hair from her face and tucked it neatly behind her ear. She looked so...hopeless. Naruto didn't think it was silly at all. In fact, he understood those feelings too well now...

Love at first sight.

Oh man...was this love at first sight?

"However, I know he doesn't feel the same way..." This made Naruto pause and simply stare.

"Come again?"

"I annoy him. I know I do; he's told me countless times. And I know he's only going through with this engagement to honor his parents last wishes...but I was hoping with time, he could come to love me too." She looked on the verge of tears, and Naruto made a move to get up and comfort her. Hold her. So much for empathizing with Sasuke. Regardless of what happened, it still didn't give the guy the right to act like such a damned prick. Sakura quickly steadied her hand and shook it, insisting she was alright. "But...I doubt that's going to happen. I could tell. After he lost his family and I saw him again for the first time in a while, I could tell their was no more love in his eyes. They were dead...it was, almost like his brother did kill everyone. Everyone...including Sasuke."

The pink haired girl lifted her head, staring into the eyes of everyone in the room with a look that didn't ask for pity or sympathy. It simply asked for help.

"Even though he doesn't love me. I...I will do what is right for Sasuke. I will always try to help him. I won't stop fighting, because I love him. So that's why I've come here today; because after I moved into his house, I've noticed weird things going on that I just can't possibly ignore. I know Sasuke has also noticed them, but...he's much too stubborn to pin them as anything unworldly. He insists I'm going mad."

Naruto tried to control his emotions, like his thorough dislike for Sasuke already and the urge to whisk Sakura away, to ask her what it is she's seen.

"Like what?"

Sakura shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"A lot of things..."

"W-what...kind of things?" Hinata peeped from Neji's side. Getting to know Sakura, and after hearing everything she's heard...it made Hinata a lot less sad and more sympathetic. Unrequited love. How she related to Sakura so well when it came to feelings never reaching the people you cherished. Hinata gazed longingly at Naruto out of the corner of her eyes, wishing that one day she too would have the courage and strength to tell Naruto and proudly display her feelings of affection. Yet until then...just being by his side would be enough.

"If it's not too hard on you, Sakura," Neji calmly said. "We wish to hear everything that's been happening. Please spare no details."

Sakura shook her head. "I understand. I...moved into his house a few months ago. Sasuke's two years older then me, so my parents waited until I was done with high school to send me to live with him and get to know him; and it really isn't that bad. He's not mean. I can tell he's being patient about this whole thing, and I know that if we marry he won't treat me badly...but- it's just the house. He hasn't moved since his parents were...well, you know- and I keep hearing things at night."

"What do you hear?"

"Just..noises. Footsteps when it's only me and him in the house. Sometimes I'd hear someone scream and I know Sasuke must've heard it, but he tells me I'm imagining things. He's always like that, even when obvious stuff has occurred, like just recently. Sasuke and I were eating breakfast in the dining room and a glass...it chucked itself from one end of the room to the other."

Naruto's eyes widened.

"I know that sounds impossible but-! I swear it happened. Even Sasuke saw it, but he simply brushed it off as the house being old. Then, once when I was taking a bath, I thought I saw someone looking in...and I know it wasn't Sasuke. He hasn't been remotely interested in me since I've lived there. We sleep together but we haven't...slept together. If you know what I mean."

Was Sasuke blind? Yes! Naruto was feeling relieved yet angry with every word that came out of Sakura's mouth. Yeah it was great that Sasuke didn't touch Sakura, but was he that screwed up in the head to not see that Sakura was a devoted, beautiful women risking her life to make sure he was safe? She was the ideal wife. Sasuke had to be nuts. There's no way he was playing with a full deck of cards if he'd ignore her and insist where they were living was fine. Didn't Sasuke see how much danger he was putting the two of them in?

"Why doesn't he move?" Naruto asked, trying to keep the bitter resentment out of his voice. "I mean, that place has a ton of bad memories, so why doesn't the bast- Sasuke, move?" Sakura frowned.

"I don't know...I think it's because he's attached? Or rather, he doesn't want to let go of everything that's happened. I've tried asking him...but he always gives me the cold shoulder. So that's why I was hoping that you guys might be able to help me."

Everyone in the room sighed. They wanted to know more, but they felt like pushing Sakura would just get her upset, and even Neji could see she definitely wasn't lying. She was obviously trying to be strong, and their interest was definitely piqued. "Alright." Naruto announced. Judging by the looks on his friends faces, he could tell this was all they needed to come to a unanimous decision. Private Paranormal's would be taking this case.

Sakura felt a hand touch her shoulder.

"Well, that's all we needed to know!" Naruto grinned, squeezing it before looking at his friends. He placed his hands on his hips. "You guys up for it?"

Kiba groaned.

"I'm not cross-dressing again."

"I don't think anyone's sad to see that go." Neji chuckled dryly, and Naruto gave Sakura a thumbs up. She felt her spirits rise.

"Thank you so much."

"No probs! Ah, but first- I never really introduced myself did I?"

Naruto held out his hand.

"The names Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki. It's nice to meet cha!" Naruto beamed.

Sakura smiled and shook it. "Naruto? That's a nice name..." She trailed off with a thoughtful gaze. Naruto couldn't help but flush just a little in embarrassment, but he composed himself, just enough to introduce the rest of his crew.

"And now that ya got to know me, let me introduce you to the guy behind me lookin' constipated. His name's Kiba," Naruto quipped, pointing behind him at Kiba who didn't appreciate the extra comment, but gave a small wave. "He and our tech guy Shikamaru are in charge of all our equipment."

Proudly stepping up at this, to most likely talk about himself, Kiba was cut short. "—but really he's just a big scaredy cat who doesn't wanna be in the middle of the awesome action."

Everyone would swear they heard a palpable snap.

Kiba smiled, but his eyes were devoid of any humor.

"You know, here I was trying to play it cool in front of the lady but you had to go and open up your big trap," he laughed. "Heh, when it's really Naruto here that barely busts his ass during an operation while I'm stuck doin' the damn nitty gritty work." Naruto's eyes narrowed, matching the others flippant attitude with equally disturbing bite. This couldn't be good. Neji and the others swore they saw sparks fly across the room.

"Huh, movin' a few camera's must really suck," Naruto said, voicing dripping with sarcasm. "Isn't like I'm the brains of the operation. Nope, no sir! Just standin' around and doing nothing. Haha!"

"Get over yourself. Really, the brains? You almost flunked out of psychology last year and that was a study on brains, stupid. Besides, every case we've had up till now has been a bust, and even if this new one is haunted there's no way you'd pull anything off. You've got about as much power as Akamaru's farts."

"Than I must be the friggin' Dalai lama because that dogs farts are pretty powerful."

There was a loud sigh and a painfully loud thwack administered by an equally aggravated Hyuga. Naruto and Kiba groaned in response, both glaring at Neji who didn't seem the least bit sorry. "I apologize Miss, they're both idiots," he said, turning towards the two who grumbled in response. The halfwits pulled away with a huff, and after a few colorful slurs the boys were in their own respective corners of the room, sulking. "I'm Neji Hyuga of the Byakugan Sect."

"Introducing the one and only Queen of Pricks," Kiba sneered. "He's basically a priest like Hinata over there, except she's cool and he's not."

"Care to explain the definition of cool?" The man named Neji hissed. Upon closer inspection Sakura noticed he was taller and more well built than the others, and his face held a no nonsense look to it. She couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by the way that he held himself. His suave appearance and stoic nature contrasted greatly with Naruto's animated personality, and while he was clad in a white dress shirt and pants, Naruto was decked out in an orange tee and pants, looking very out of place and if not a little bit underage in the troop of spiritualists. "I didn't know that being a noisy imbecile was now considered a trend."

"Why you-!" Kiba stopped, forced to hold his tongue. Hinata was giving him that look again and Kiba held back his list of expletives before looking away; feeling embarrassed for some reason.

"I-it's nice to meet you..." The delicate girl cut in, giving a small bow. "I'm also part of the Byakugan sect. M-me and Neji, well..." Hinata paused, not exactly knowing how to articulate what she wanted to say. "We're in charge of helping hostile spirits calm down. Uhm...you see..in J-japan we..."

"What lady Hinata is trying to say, is that our expertise is preventing ghosts from wreaking havoc. It's quite simple. You see, their are different types of spirits in our world. The word poltergeist is derived from the german word, poltern, which means to "make a sound", and geist, as in ghost. It means noisy spirit."

"Since when were you the expert? Where'd you memorize that from, Wikepedia?" Naruto snorted.

"Since I actually take the time to do my research. Unlike someone who just charges in blindly without a moments notice."

Naruto turned away at that and huffed.

"As I was saying, there have been two theories about poltergeist activities. One of them-"

"-is that it's caused by stress." Someone cut in, entirely silent and invisible up till now. He was a lanky fellow with snow white skin and dark, abysmal eyes. A plastic smile seemed to be carved into his face as he stood uncomfortably close to Naruto, causing the blond to inch away. The man only continued to step closer to Naruto, whose face twisted in disgust.

"Nice of you to join us Sai." It was by far the most unenthusiastic greeting. "I thought you left earlier? When the hell did you get here?"

Sai wasn't very good on personal space.

"I simply had some time to kill. So after I finished studying I decided to see if anyone was here. Seems like I was right."

He was the weirdest and newest member of the group, if Naruto could even call him a member. Sai decided to join only a few months ago, and since then, he'd been doing nothing but pushing Naruto's buttons. Naruto was half convinced he wasn't even human sometimes, and despite verbally stating he didn't want him as part of the team, Sai's insistence on being around gave him no choice but to allow him in. Which sucked. Naruto moved away and sulked. Suddenly Sakura's attention was drawn to Sai- and yup, Naruto was finding more reasons to hate him.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Sai asked, noticing Sakura was peering at him very intensely.

"O-oh...uhm, no." Sakura laughed, catching herself. "I'm sorry, I just thought you weirdly resembled my fiancee. In a way."

Great. So on top of being a jerk, Sakura's fiancee resembled someone Naruto already knew was a huge dick. More of a reason to dislike Sasuke even more.

Sai didn't quite understand but continued his explanation from earlier anyways.

"From what is written, the leading cause of poltergeist activities are claimed to be because of the subjects themselves. Aggression, irrational fear, and unprecedented amounts of stress have been theorized to cause movement of objects by using unconscious telekinesis. It's said we only use 10% of our brain..."

The man, now formally known as Sai, extended a hand towards Naruto.

"...in dickless's case, he uses about 2%."

"Language." Neji said, reminding everyone a little too late that there was a client present in the room. And if that weren't reason enough to tune down the obscenities, he was certain that a physical altercation would ruin their reputation. He just hoped Naruto could keep himself from exploding. Neji prayed, just this once, he'd have the self control.

"Funny." Naruto replied tastelessly, hands clenching and unclenching.

Neji noticed the shaky tone and just this once, commended the others strength. They just needed to make it through this meeting without an idiotic fight breaking out.

"So if we only use 10% of our brains, which hasn't been proven, it's not highly unlikely that there are people out there that can to tap into more of their brain power, whether they realize it or not."

"W..what you're saying is," Sakura said sadly. "That maybe the stress from this move, and the marriage might've caused me or Sasuke to preform this telepathy?

"I'm not saying it's not a possibility. It could also be because your house is old. The noises and the objects moving might be because of the structure of the house. It's common for old homes to be unsturdy and create weird sounds and movements akin to footsteps, which might have also caused you to get paranoid and hallucinate."

"But we're not ruling what you said out." Naruto made sure to clarify. Sakura was looking awfully disheartened. "Sai's just saying that it could be the case. Doesn't mean we won't check it out. What time is good for you?"

"Is tomorrow okay?" Sakura inquired, unsure. "I was hoping maybe in the afternoon? Sasuke's usually on business, so that can give you time to look around."

"Sounds great! Three it is!"

Sakura got up and thanked everyone. Naruto was the first to open the door for her, hoping to get to talk to her more intimately.

"Are you sure you uh, don't need someone to walk you to the train station?" Naruto asked. Testing his luck.

"No, I'm fine...my drivers picking me up in front."

Oh. Right. She was rich.

Naruto felt stupid now for wanting to be the one to walk her home. He forgot where she lived.

"Well don't worry!" Naruto called as she walked out, tracing her silhouette until it disappeared. "If we are actually dealing with a hostile spirit than we have no other choice but to make it go peacefully, or unpeacefully!" It sounded way cooler in his head. Kiba and the others left after her and rolled their eyes, saying they'd meet in the club room tomorrow to get ready. Sai was the last one to go.

"Unpeacefully isn't a word, dickless."

"Shut up Sai." Naruto hissed.

Regardless of the shitty first impressions, Naruto could call today a success. He was looking forward to tomorrow, and as he headed back to his own dorm where Shikamaru was most likely passed out in bed, he knew what lovely girl would harbor a spot in his dreams tonight. Sakura.

Naruto flopped on his crappy, twenty dollar mattress, muttering her name over and over again like he would his favorite song.

"Sakura..."

Then his world disappeared behind a black smog.

Author's closing notes: Oh gosh-

This was tough to write. I wonder if anyone is even interested in cliche plot lines like this. (I'm sure this is cheesy.) I hope I didn't bore anyone.

Please let me know if you're still interested!