A/N: Glad you liked the last chapter! I felt like adding a little comedy. This chapter is a little more serious, but I quite like it :) Thanks again to the amazing reviewers, you are my motivation.

Disclaimer: Kishimoto-san owns Naruto and all to do with the anime.

Claimer: Kari is mine, Torai-Kenshi is mine, Kita is mine, Kaizo & Kitome is mine.

Uchiha Yuurei

Uchiha Ghosts

Her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat as she felt eyes on her,

But they were alone, who could possibly be watching them?

"Ohayo!"

"Unhh" Sasuke mumbled, his eyes opening slightly. Kakashi stood in front of them, barely visible by the dim light. It was just before dawn.

"I can't get up early hmm?" Kakashi said folding his arms over his chest.

"Go away" Sasuke grumbled, flopping back onto the ground as Kari shifted closer to him in her sleep.

"Too bad. I brought ice-cream."

Like magic, Kari sat up and looked at her sensei expectantly. Sasuke groaned, and turned, no longer comfortable. Knowing full well he wouldn't go back to sleep, he sat up, Kari looking at him curiously with a spoon in her mouth.

"You want some?" she asked, scooping some up and holding it out to him.

"No." Sasuke said bluntly.

"Good" she replied shoving the spoon back into her mouth. Once finished, she climbed into Kakashi's lap and fell asleep in seconds.

"That baka…" Sasuke sighed as Kari's ear twitched, listening to Kakashi's beating heart. She found the sound soothing, which is why she always slept with her head on Sasuke's chest. He wasn't particularly fond of it, but learnt to get used to it.

"She's just affectionate Sasuke" Kakashi replied, also used to her loving behaviour. She really had a way of growing on you. Sasuke didn't reply having already fallen asleep.

Sasuke awoke when he felt a sharp prod to his side. He glared at Kari, who was now awake and had nudged him with her foot. She silently motioned to Kakashi, who was lightly snoring. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was getting at. She mimed his mask and Sasuke rolled his eyes, but watched as she shifted and placed her hands lightly on the sides of Kakashi's face.

Is she really going to pull down the mask?!

"Can I help you?"

Kari stiffened and Sasuke mentally sighed with disappointment. She grinned sheepishly and blurted out a random excuse.

"Gomen, you looked sexy."

"When you're older, tell me that again ne?" Kakashi said with a light chuckle as he pushed her off him.

"I wanted to see if you let your guard down that's all!" Kari said as Kakashi chuckled and shook his head. Hey that was a good excuse! "And what was that supposed to mean before hentaiii?"

"Take it as a compliment Kari" Kakashi said giving her a pat on the head.

"Baka you find Kakashi attractive?" Sasuke said looking at her oddly as they went to follow their sensei.

"Pshh, I can't judge if I haven't seen his face can I? But the hair and voice are ok so far!" Kari said with a laugh.

"I can't tell whether you're being sarcastic or not… But he's too old for you" Sasuke said simply.

"Nice to know you care."

"I don't."

"Oh my poor bleeding heart…" Kari said clutching her shirt with pretend sorrow. "The almighty Uchiha Sasuke doesn't care…"

"Baka."

"Usuratonkashi."

"Onnako."

"What kind of insult is 'woman'?" Kari said in confusion. "Sexist pig."

"Enough of the lovers tiff you two, time for training" Kakashi said, having lead them out into the rocky desert.

"To motivate you, I'm going to tell you about the technique. After all, you two are very impatient" Kakashi said as Kari tried to push Sasuke off the rock again. They were both sitting on the same rock, yet she was the one who had less room.

"You should be paying attention Kari."

"Right, gomen" Kari said simply.

"I'm going to teach you my own technique, my Raikiri" Kakashi said. Kari's eyes widened and her jaw dropped while Sasuke looked confused.

"What's Raikiri?" Sasuke questioned interested.

"That blue lightening you almost killed me with?!" Kari cried, hugging herself in alarm. She grabbed the back of Sasuke's shirt prepared to use him as a shield if Kakashi performed the jutsu.

"You mean that attack that left a hole through Kari's chest?" Sasuke asked, anxious to know more about Kakashi's technique.

"Hai" Kakashi replied, seemingly becoming depressed. "You're the only one that's ever survived that jutsu."

"For good reason! That took forever to heal and it hurt like hell!" Kari said, reminiscing about the painful experience. "Oro? Kashi I didn't mean to make you feel bad! Gomenasai! Gomenasai!" Kari cried, noticing the Jonin seemed upset and ran over to him, jumping up and wrapping her arms around his neck in an apologetic embrace.

"Ack! Apology accepted!" Kakashi cried, hoisting her onto his hip like a child to stop her strangling him.

"Baka."

"Tori-atama!"

"Bird-head? What kind of insult is that?" Kakashi asked as Sasuke was momentarily stunned by her odd retort.

"An offensive one!" Kari said simply.

"Right… As I was saying, I'll be teaching you your own version of Raikiri. But first, we need to work on your Taijutsu. Both of your chakra control is very good, so that shouldn't be too much of a worry" Kakashi said as Kari put her elbow on his shoulder, leaning on her hand.

"Raikiri is a Ninjutsu, why is Taijutsu important?" Kari asked.

"Speed. If you'll think back to Nami, I came at you pretty fast didn't I? Raikiri takes a lot of chakra, and can't be sustained for too long, you also need distance and a short amount of time to perform the jutsu, so naturally, you'll have to close that distance to attack." Kakashi explained.

"Mmm…" Kari agreed.

"I'm going to demonstrate anyway, so you'll need to give me a little room" he said, placing her down on the ground. Kari walked back over to Sasuke, who had been listening intently, curious about the jutsu. He could remember how injured Kari had been, the technique must be dangerous.

"Calm down baka, Kakashi wouldn't intentionally hurt you" Sasuke said, noticing she was on edge, muscles tense.

Blue lightning began to form in Kakashi's palm, a ring of lightning around him. Kari's ears shot back and Sasuke felt her grab the back of his shirt. Kakashi turned and raced towards a rock to his right, thrusting his right hand towards it.

'HAKU!!!'

Kari flinched at the memory and closed her eyes, seeing Haku's lifeless face, blood streaming from his lips, eyes wide with shock and pain as they dulled, becoming blank. She could feel her throat becoming tight, clogged with thick liquid as a horrible warm wet feeling spread across her body. She could feel the cold bitter air stinging at her insides, the darkness spreading across her eyes as Haku slowly disappeared, Sakura's horrified scream ringing in her ears.

"His chakra… it was visible" Sasuke said in awe, staring at the hole left by the blast. The rock had cracks running along it. "That sound… it's like…"

"Tori… hundreds of tori…" Kari whispered, the chirping ringing in her ears. Kari was startled by her tight throat and hoarse voice. She wiped her mouth, smears of red spreading across her fingertips.

"Exactly, a thousand birds—Kari?" Sasuke was distracted by her horrified face. "Doushita?" She tried to answer, but a mouthful of blood flooded out of her mouth as she trembled, trying to catch it in her hands.

"Kakashi!" Sasuke cried in alarm as Kari slammed her hands over her mouth, drops of blood sliding through her fingers and down her chin.

"It's because she was afraid" Kakashi said quietly, moving her hair out the way of her blood. "Remember what you read about the AkumaInu?"

"The devil dog causes mental pain to become physical pain when the person shows weakness. It turns tears to blood in punishment" Sasuke recited while Kakashi rubbed her back, trying to ease her shaking.

"Exactly, it's my guess that seeing Raikiri triggered her memory to when that Haku boy was killed, she felt the fear and it automatically showed on her face. The memory probably was so vivid that she felt every ounce of pain again, and sensing that, the AkumaInu punished her weakness and drew her blood" Kakashi said, while Kari rubbed the blood away from her mouth, her breathing returning to normal as she started to calm down.

"Kuso…" Sasuke whispered. Kari's face was sickly pale, her pupils fully dilated.

"Looks like we're going to have to work on Raikiri, you're slightly phobic about it" Kakashi sighed, placing a hand on her head in comfort.

"I'll get over it" Kari mumbled, sighing away her tension while Sasuke watched her warily. The colour started to return to her face as she pulled herself together, the nausea fading. "So we need to work on speed?"

"You don't want a rest first?" Kakashi questioned, Kari shook her head. "Well, Sasuke copied some of Lee's movements with his Sharingan. Using his eyes he's going to watch you and try and copy your movements."

"I'm not running like a girl" Sasuke said scowling. Kari tried to contain her giggles as a mental image of Sasuke prancing around like a fairy princess swam into her mind. Seeing the colour had returned to her cheeks and her eyes were alert, Kakashi told Kari to run across in front of them while Sasuke had his Sharingan activated.

"Ryoukai" Kari said with a lazy salute walking a couple metres away to the right. Sasuke's irises bled red, two tomoe spinning in each eye.

"Go."

Sasuke watched in amazement as she shot forward. His Sharingan had to really slow down her movements to be able to process it, his heartbeat seeming heavy and slow. He watched as she would land lightly on the ball of her foot, her ankle and knee bending slightly as her knee descended a little towards the ground, as though she was going to fall, however, she would spring forwards, almost leaping as her other leg would swing forwards until the ball of her foot met the ground. She was leaning forwards, so her back was in a diagonal straight line, her arms carried behind her, making her more streamlined so she could move faster.

He had to admit, it was beautiful to watch.

To think that baka could be described as beautiful and elegant. Tch. Sakura will turn out to be a guy next…

He was surprised to see her breathing was quite steady. Though she was breathing extremely quickly in order to get the oxygen to her muscles, she didn't seem tired by it. It was quite amazing actually.

"You're still wearing weights I see" Kakashi mused as she came to a stop, kicking up dust and sand at the sudden movement. Kari shrugged and said they were light ones. Kakashi's own Sharingan was slowly spinning. "You're very light-footed, and also a quiet runner."

"She still runs like a girl" Sasuke said, folding his arms. Graceful wasn't his style.

"She's a lot faster than you are."

"Stop talking about me as though I can't hear you" Kari mumbled, sitting down on the ground and trying to wipe away the blood on her hands.

"Besides Sasuke" Kakashi continued "you're not as light as she is, and you can't shift your weight that quickly. You're going to just have to build your stamina and speed by working with what you've got."

"Tch" Sasuke scoffed as Kari stood up and lightly jumped onto a rock. She looked around, scanning her surroundings, ears twitching, listening carefully.

"Seen something of interest?" Kakashi asked, looking in the direction Kari's eyes were fixed on. There was a shrill cry and an eagle appeared, swooping down and landing on her shoulder.

"I thought it was wild, but I could smell ink" Kari said, jumping down smoothly, the bird remaining fixedly on her shoulder.

"Mm? It's for me" Kakashi said walking over to her. Kari stretched out her arm and the eagle fluttered down to her wrist, allowing Kakashi to get the scroll tied to its leg.

"What does it say?" Sasuke asked while Kari smiled at her new feathery friend.

"We are writing to inform you that your students Uchiha Sasuke and Kari are missing from the hospital. We request that you bring them back to the hospital, as they still need medical attention and failure to do so may result in their health rapidly deteriorating" Kakashi read. He sighed and then wrote a quick reply that Kari read as;

'They seem perfectly healthy, both refuse to return. If they collapse or become extremely ill, then they will be brought to hospital. At the moment, no medical attention is required. Have a nice day.'

Kakashi tied the scroll to the eagle's leg and the bird stayed attached to Kari's arm, staring at Kakashi.

"Kari, the eagle has to deliver the reply" Kakashi said as Kari looked at him oddly. She gave him a saddened look, making him feel guilty.

"Ja Taka-chan" Kari said, throwing the bird into the air, it spread its wings and took off in the direction it came.

"Come on Kari, if I see improvement in Sasuke you can go see Naruto this week" Kakashi offered.

"Really?" Kari asked, her eyes lighting up as a smile of pure excitement spread across her face. Kakashi smiled behind his mask and placed a hand on Kari's head.

"Hai. Don't use chakra when you run, try and move without it like you did when you demonstrated. Work him hard" Kakashi said, looking for a good point to supervise them. Kari nodded, determination sparking in her eyes and she shot towards Sasuke.

"Dodge it!!" she cried a second before her fist connected with his jaw.

"I was caught off guard!" Sasuke said defensively, charging full pelt back towards her. Instead of attempting to avoid his attack, she ran away from him, easily outrunning him. Sasuke activated his Sharingan, clearly remembering her movements. He went to charge after her but slipped and fell.

"I told you that you move in a different way to her, remember Lee's movements instead." Kakashi said, looking up from his book.

"Then why did I have to watch her run?" Sasuke snapped, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"So you would be able to see her technique and would stand a chance. Kari outmatches you in speed by a fair bit, she's not tired or in very much pain, so she isn't using chakra as she runs." Kakashi explained as he rushed after her again and again, not being able to come close. "So to give you a boost, until your leg muscles are used to the speed you'll need to be moving at, use your chakra."

"Hn."

"Come on Uchiha!" Kari called, a challenging smirk on her face. Kakashi had noticed that she had a love for fighting, despite her soft heart. But then again, she has Tasukaru blood, and they are wild vicious shinobi that love to fight.

"Go easy on him Kari, it's new for him" Kakashi reminded. They both were trying to wind Sasuke up, so that he'd get frustrated and motivated.

"I'll put on extra weights to help you out" Kari said, her arms and legs glowing blue and dust rising at her feet. Sasuke glared at her, Sharingan spinning as he pooled chakra into his legs. It felt odd, a tingling down his thighs then spreading across his shins and calves, becoming more concentrated around his ankles and feet.

With a sudden burst of speed he shot towards her. He was quite fast as it was, but seeing her shoot away from him with ease irritated him and made him feel weak.

He hated feeling weak.

But no matter how mad he got, or how hard he tried to outsmart her, she was always out of his reach. No matter how much chakra he shoved into his legs, her slender, chakra-less legs moved faster.

It was infuriating.

Sasuke panted in exhaustion, his legs like jelly. His Sharingan had deactivated from lack of chakra and sweat was sliding across his skin. He was sore and tired, with nothing but his bruised pride keeping him up.

Baka-onnako. Baka, baka, baka.

He went to fall forward, but landed on something reasonably soft. Kari had tried to catch him, but being tired from hours of so much chakra-less running she felt like passing out herself. She wasn't quite the sweating exhausted mess Sasuke was at least.

He couldn't even move to get off her, and he was quite heavy. She could feel him panting, his heart hammering in his ribs. The heat from him spread across her skin, and with an irritated jolt, she realised he had fallen asleep on her, right there and then.

With a scoff and a smirk, Kari soon followed him to dreamland, resisting the urge to shove the Uchiha-blanket off.

"Kuso I ache…" Sasuke mumbled as his eyes fluttered open.

"You stink too…" Kari mumbled, before falling from her half asleep state, back into a light sleep. Sasuke realised he was laying on her, but his muscles were tight and painful and he couldn't even attempt to move.

Besides, she was quite comfortable. Not that she needed to know that of course.

"I'm guessing you're pretty sore" Kakashi said, appearing beside them. "I tried to wake you up, but you were dead to the world. I'm guessing you're pretty hungry."

Sasuke grunted in indifference, but his stomach answered for him. Loudly.

"Ughh don't do that, it feels like you've got snakes wriggling around inside you" Kari said grimacing.

"Oh and you aren't hungry?" Sasuke scoffed.

"Nope. I ran on ice-cream" she reminded him.

"That was about thirty hours ago…"

"…it was good stuff" she said with a happy smile.

"Here's your bento's" Kakashi said as Sasuke forced himself up. As always, Kari dumped her vegetables on top of Sasuke's. Kakashi didn't know why he bothered giving them to her anymore.

"I get the shower first ne?" Kari said, swallowing her mouthful of rice and glancing at Sasuke. He grunted, not really caring.

"Can't you just bathe in the lake?" Kakashi asked simply. Kari looked at him in horror, while Sasuke's face expressed disgust.

"No way am I taking my clothes off in front of him/her!" they cried in unison pointing at each other.

"You live together, surely you've seen it all before" Kakashi said simply, trying not to laugh at them both. They were fun to tease.

"IIE!" they shouted.

"Well, you're team-mates. What if you were injured and needed to remove clothing to treat your wounds hmm?"

"That's completely different hentai!" their voices perfectly synchronised.

"I didn't say you had to look at each other did I? No touching either" Kakashi said while Kari's complexioned darkened to a deep ruby red.

"If you try and make me wash with him I'll leave and train with another sensei!" Kari threatened causing Kakashi to stiffen. "I'll go see Naruto-kun! He's more fun anyway!"

"Iie" Kakashi said sternly. "You're here to work with Sasuke."

"You're the sensei."

"She has a point. You should be teaching me."

"No shower." Kakashi said folding his arms.

"I'll go see Gai-sensei then!" Kari said standing up.

"…Don't be too long in the shower ne Kari-imouto?" Kakashi said sweetly as his eyebrow twitched.

"Hai Kashi-nii! Ja!" and she disappeared in a gust of wind.

"Come on Sasuke! I'm not even tired!" Kari taunted as the Uchiha tried to catch up to her. He was improving frighteningly fast; his hand had brushed the tip of her tail an hour ago. A week had passed and Sasuke's speed was exceptional. Kakashi had felt a little bad for him, having noticed Kari's own speed improving even more.

With a jolt of chakra, the Uchiha leapt and grabbed hold of her, arms locking around her waist in a deathlike grip. She yelped at the sudden weight pressed into the back of her, pushing her off balance and causing them to crash to the ground.

"You finally caught her hmm?" Kakashi said smiling behind his mask. "Your speed has more than doubled in just a week Sasuke, you should be pleased."

"Get… off… you… fat… oompa… loompa…!" Kari wheezed, having being completely winded. She had landed on uneven rocky ground and could feel the bruises slowly spreading across her chest and ribs.

"Sore loser" Sasuke said through pants, unable to stop his victorious smirk.

"Actually Sasuke… I doubt her broken ribs are fully healed yet. That fall must have hurt" Kakashi said, slightly concerned.

"She'll survive" Sasuke said, ignoring Kari's curses.

"Not… with… your… fat arse… crushing… my lungs… I won't!"

"His fans will skin you alive if they hear that Kari. Besides, Sasuke isn't at all obese, in fact he's probably underweight" Kakashi said simply.

"Don't… care!" she hissed trying to crawl out from underneath him unsuccessfully.

"Well, at least you can go see Naruto tomorrow ne?" Kakashi said, trying to cheer her up. She gave up on her futile attempts to escape and smiled contentedly.

"Finally. I missed him Kaka-nii" Kari sighed happily.

"Hn…" Sasuke scoffed, shifting slightly.

Crack.

"KUSO!" Sasuke shouted jumping off her in alarm. "Daijoubu?!"

"That… was… my… back… you… complete… teme!" Kari hissed, standing up and stretching, multiple loud clicking and cracking noises emitting from her joints. She rubbed her back grimacing.

"I need a hot bath and a massage" she mumbled sourly. Kakashi walked passed her and examined where she fell.

"Could you have chosen a more uneven rocky piece of ground to fall on?" he asked, running his hand along the jagged ground.

"I didn't exactly choose to fall Kashi…" Kari mumbled, glaring at Sasuke who ignored her.

"Get Sasuke to give you a massage so he can redeem himself" Kakashi said simply, flicking his book open.

"AA!? I'm not taking my shirt off in front of him! And he won't know what to do; he'll probably just break the bottom of my spine or something!" Kari cried, immediately discarding the idea.

"Nice to know you believe in me…" Sasuke scoffed. "I don't want to do it anyway."

"Tough, you're going to. If her muscles become stiff she won't be able to help you anymore with your speed" Kakashi said as Kari glared at him.

"Can't you do it?" Sasuke asked, also glaring at his sensei.

"She thinks I'm a hentai" Kakashi said smiling behind his mask. "So she would be tense and wouldn't relax."

"Oh and he's not a hentai?" Kari said, pointing at Sasuke.

"No. Don't you remember our conversation on adults about a week ago?" Kakashi said, referring to Sasuke's ignorance. Kari was unable to stop her giggles. Oh that was a classic…

"Can I have a towel at least?" Kari asked, finally coming round to the idea.

"Of course" Kakashi said while Sasuke glared at them both.

"I'm guessing I don't get a say in this?"

"Nope."

Kari sighed in utter contentment as she let the hot water rise above her collarbone as she let her shoulders submerge below the surface.

"We should get one of these for your apartment" Kari said as she felt her muscles relax in the warmth. Kakashi had given them the rest of the day off to rest (Sasuke had wanted to train so had a slight sulk). He sent them to the hot spring so they wouldn't get muscle cramp.

"It wouldn't fit baka" Sasuke scoffed. They had changed into swimwear, so were more at ease at being in the water at the same time. They were on opposite sides of the spring to keep as far away as possible. The spring wasn't very big, but it was big enough to stretch their legs without touching each other.

"Well, when you get a big house then" Kari said with a slight shrug.

"Then I'd never get rid of you" Sasuke sighed. He blinked and then blushed. "Baka! Don't do that look!!" he cried. Her puppy eyes were shining and glossy, her cheeks flushed and her lips slightly parted in pained shock. "I want you to live with me for the rest of my life ok? Just… stop looking at me like that!"

"Hai!" Kari said, her heart wrenching sorrow disappearing to be replaced by a simple smile. Sasuke sighed; embarrassed that he had fallen for that stupid trick. "Oi Sasu?"

"Don't call me that. What?" Sasuke replied, looking up at her.

"Does your hair go flat when it's wet?" Kari asked curiously. Sasuke gave her an odd look.

"Why?"

"I just can't imagine it, and I didn't think to look when we were learning to walk on water, and I don't look at you when you come out of the shower" Kari said thoughtfully. "Go underwater and come back up."

"No."

"Don't make me come over there and dunk you!" Kari threatened.

"You wouldn't dare…" Sasuke said glaring at her. A sudden push was his answer and he tumbled over, falling in the water with a splash. He shot up, spitting out the water. He glared at her, Sharingan gleaming.

"Oh dear… EE!!" Kari shrieked as Sasuke jumped on her, shoving her under the water. They had a splashing fight and kept jumping on each other trying to drown one another.

Eventually, they gave up and sat side by side and soaking wet.

"Well it doesn't go completely flat, but it goes flatter nonetheless" Kari evaluated. She shuddered and shook her head finding her soggy ears revolting.

"Hn" Sasuke replied, his bangs dripping water into his eyes and sticking to his flushed face. "So you're going to see the other baka tomorrow?"

"Don't insult Naru-kun! And yes I am" Kari replied, trying in vain to get her bangs out of her eyes. "Are you gonna come too?"

"Tch why would I want to do that?" Sasuke scoffed.

"Because we're your best friends. Sakura won't be there though, is that why you don't want to go?" Kari asked with a sly smirk.

"I told you before. I don't like Sakura."

"Sure you don't" Kari teased. Sasuke glared at her, a blush coming to his face. Now that he knew the true meaning behind guys and girls and what his fan girls were most likely after, he couldn't think of girls in the same way anymore. They weren't just annoying, they were disturbing. He knew what flirting was, but never realised the true extent of it.

"What about you? You probably went through that phase when you were back wherever you came from" Sasuke said glancing at her. She closed her eyes looking thoughtful.

"Probably, but I honestly can't remember" she replied opening her eyes again. "I can't remember much of anything that happened there anymore."

"Not even your birth parents?" Sasuke asked.

"Everyone's faces are hazy, their voices thick and slow" Kari said as she tried to remember. "Nothing I can do though ne? I just hope they're not worrying about me or thinking I'm dead and mourning over me."

"You want them to forget about you?" Sasuke asked, unsure to what she was trying to say.

"Hai, that would be best for everyone" Kari replied, sinking down so that only her eyes were above water.

"You miss them don't you" Sasuke said, looking down at her. She didn't reply, but he knew she did.

"I'm dead to them now. I just need to accept that I'll never see them again" Kari replied, rising up slightly so she could speak.

"You've still got me" Sasuke said, trying to cheer her up. He mentally punched himself for being so soft.

"Thanks Sasu" Kari said smiling at him.

"Don't call me that Chiisai-Kari-chan"

"Oi!" she said glaring at him. "Keep it up and I'll call you Saucy-chan!"

Sasuke glared at her before giving her a hard shove making her fall underwater with a splash. He waited for her to come up and started get anxious when she didn't. He almost screamed when he felt something grab hold of his foot and drag him under. He grabbed hold of her wrist before she could swim away and she grinned sheepishly at him.

Everything looked different underwater, unearthly almost. Kari's skin looked paler, slightly tinged green. Her hair fanned out around her, almost as if it had a life of its own.

Sasuke was knocked out of his daze by Kari's hand waving in front of his face. She looked puzzled, her face flushed from the heat of the spring. They surfaced and sighed, the hot water making them feel light-headed.

They got out and flopped down on the grass, Kari grabbing her towel on the way and wrapping it around her.

"Don't suppose your actually going to give me a massage hmm?" Kari asked hopefully.

"No."

"Didn't think so" Kari sighed.

"But you can come visit the Uchiha compound with me if you want, and my parents graves" Sasuke offered.

"Uchiha compound? That haunted place away from central Konoha?" Kari asked, remembering when Sakura showed the gate to her.

"Hai. I used to live there before my clan was wiped out. When I restore my clan, I'll move back in and make the compound filled with life again" Sasuke said lost inhis thoughts.

"…So are you actually going to put a hot spring in there somewhere?" Kari asked.

"No. But there's a lake if that makes it any better" Sasuke said looking round at her.

"But isn't it personal to you? Why would you want me to go?" Kari asked softly.

"My Okaasan always asked me to bring friends home when I was younger. I never really had friends so she never got to properly meet my classmates. She worried that I was lonely" Sasuke said.

"So you admit we're friend hmm?" Kari said smiling.

"I guess" Sasuke said simply. It was odd really, having been alone for so long and then realising that you had a friend. Naruto was his friend and rival, but he was definitely not going into the Uchiha compound. He'd break something or disturb the spirits.

"I'd be honoured to go with you" Kari said causing Sasuke to smirk. "But I'm getting dressed before I do."

"Don't take too long" Sasuke said before a towel was thrown at his head.

"Here we are" Sasuke said, standing outside the gate after a transportation jutsu. Hardly anyone comes by here anymore. All the rumours of curses and ghosts were thankfully keeping them away. He looked at Kari and noticed she seemed apprehensive, ears back and eyes hesitant. Her senses were probably on overdrive.

"Do you see their spirits?" Kari asked.

"Sometimes" Sasuke said, taking hold of her hand and leading her through the gate. The minute she stepped inside, she felt as though many pairs of eyes were watching her from the shadows. She felt cold and shuddered, moving closer to Sasuke. Her ears could pick up the sounds of shuffling.

She stopped suddenly and looked around. Sasuke turned and watched her. She didn't look frightened, just alert. He let go of her hand and kept walking. Kari looked at the broken window, hearing a slight shuffling from inside. She jumped out of her skin when she felt something cold touch her back and spun round.

"Sasuke…?" Kari asked, seeing nothing behind her.

"Sasuke?" a voice repeated beside her. Kari stiffened and glanced to the right to see a pair of red eyes staring back at her. Her eyes widened and she remained perfectly still. "Sasuke's home?"

"Hai" Kari squeaked.

"Must tell… worried… home safe…" the strange ghost mumbled before disappearing. It was then Kari realised that Sasuke had just left her there.

"Sasuke! You know I get lost!" Kari hissed, walking forwards, looking for a sign of life.

"Lost?" a different voice whispered in her ear making her jump. This time Kari found a pair of black eyes looking at her, black eyes with a hint of grey, identical to Sasuke's. Kari's eyes widened as she got a better look.

"You… you… you must be…" Kari said in shock. Same eyes, same shaped face, same skin tone, same hair colour, just a different gender. "…Sasuke's Okaasan."

"Sasuke? …Sasuke's home?" the woman asked a smile spreading across her pale, semi-transparent lips. She was very beautiful and had a kind look about her.

"Hai… Uchiha-san" Kari replied.

"Koto… Mikoto… Okaasan… Sasuke's Okaasan…" the ghost mumbled before taking silent footsteps forward. She looked back and reached out to touch Kari's arm. There was no sensation of touch, just a cold breeze across her skin.

"Anou…?"

"No manners… just like his father… come on Kitome's child… Sasuke's not too far" the spirit requested, half walking, half floating forwards. Kari followed warily, confused and the littlest bit scared.

"I shouldn't have left her… she's probably lost" Sasuke sighed sitting on the familiar porch. It was dull and dusty, no one have taken the care to clean it. Sasuke would never let a cleaner touch his family's things.

"Sasuke?" He looked up to see a very pale Kari staring at him. "Are you real?"

"Well that's a stupid question" Sasuke said giving her a confused look.

"Rude… Got that from his father…" Mikoto's ghost said, frowning at her son. Kari glanced from the ghost to her live son, and came to the conclusion Sasuke couldn't see her.

"Are you alright baka? You look like you've seen a ghost" Sasuke said walking up to her and tapping her lightly on her cheek.

"No manners… But at least he brought… home… Asking him… do that… years… never did" Mikoto murmured looking disapprovingly at her son.

"I have" Kari said weakly, glancing at Sasuke's mother.

"That's just paranoia. Come on, I want to see their graves before it gets dark" Sasuke said, grabbing hold of her hand and dragging her along.

"Poor Kari… Sasuke will never get a girlfriend… Poor Sasuke" Mikoto said sadly, floating along after them.

"These are my parents' graves" Sasuke said, pointing them out. They were placed together and plants had started to grow across the stone. Mikoto's ghost sat on her tombstone and unfortunately for Kari, what seemed to be Sasuke's father appeared. He had Sasuke's scowl.

"Brought home a stranger… should know better…" the man said grumpily, his voice echoing slightly.

"Very nice girl Fugaku… Be polite…" Mikoto asked.

"Has ears like Kaizo… Kaizo's daughter died…" Fugaku said, giving her an Uchiha stare-glare.

"Reincarnation… Torai-Kenshi… Can see us…" Mikoto murmured. Sasuke was looking at his parents graves lost in thought. He was still grasping her hand, and seemed unaware that she was squeezing it to death.

Fugaku approached her and looked down at her, seemingly surprised that she kept eye contact.

"Sasuke's… girlfriend?" he asked, his voice fading in the middle. Kari glanced at Sasuke before shaking her head slightly. "Then why…?"

Anou… Can I do telepathy with a ghost? Kari wondered while glancing at Sasuke who was giving her an odd look. She wished he could see his father looking her up and down, then walking around her.

"Odd Uchiha restoration… Uchiha with tails… Embarassing…" Fugaku murmured causing Kari to blush and shake her head rapidly.

"Kari doushita?" Sasuke asked, starting to become concerned with her odd behaviour.

"Don't tell… Sasuke will get upset… angry about Itachi" Mikoto softly wailed.

"Anou… AkumaInu, the feel of death is making me see things" Kari muttered embarrassed that Fugaku was still staring at her with disapproval.

"Large chakra capacity, pretty enough… have to watch… see how she develops… into adult" Fugaku murmured, still uncertain.

"Very nice girl Fugaku… Didn't scream… Looking after Sasuke… He looks happy, see…?" Mikoto gestured to her son.

"I always feel close to my parents when I come here…" Sasuke said quietly. "It reminds me of what I have to do, that I am an avenger."

"No, no… My sons will kill each other… They're alone…" Mikoto cried in misery.

"He's a traitor!" Fugaku hissed. "He has to die!"

"My oldest son! My poor boy, corrupted and confused!" Mikoto cried, trying to defend him. Kari supposed it was a mother's love, that it would continue even in the harshest betrayal.

"I'm glad you came with me" Sasuke said quietly, looking up at Kari. The bickering stopped and Sasuke's parents looked at him stunned. Kari smiled and wrapped her arms around his torso. "That wasn't an invitation baka" Sasuke said with a smirk as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer.

"Isn't it wonderful Fugaku!" Mikoto cried in delight, clasping her transparent hands together silently.

"Hn. He gets that softness from you" Fugaku said a small smirk coming to his face. "He hasn't been happy… in a long time."

"Take care of him Kari-chan! …Continue… Making him happy!" Mikoto cried.

"I'll show you around my parents' house and then we'll go okay?" Sasuke asked.

"Hai, Kashi will be wondering where we are" she said simply.

"How can you be so cold in July?" Sasuke asked, his fathers scowl on his lips.

"You know I'm naturally cold" Kari said simply. That and I've seen three ghosts, two of which are your parents and one of which examined me and talked about the shame of Uchiha's with tails!

"Hn." Sasuke said, walking towards his parents' house with his arm still around her trying to keep her warm.

"He's so thin! … First not sleeping… Still not eating well…" Mikoto fussed as she looked over Sasuke worriedly.

"Kashi's right you know you are underweight, you're really thin. You'll end up all gangly and lanky" Kari said, getting Mikoto's concerns across to him.

"Hypocrite, you're a lot thinner and lighter than I am" Sasuke scoffed.

"Yeah but I'm a girl, and I rely on speed. You need to have strength behind those blows!" Kari said stubbornly.

"All right point taken" Sasuke said simply. They entered the house and Kari looked around warily for any more spirits that might be lurking about. Mikoto followed them inside making odd comments as Sasuke gave Kari a brief tour. He allowed her into his old room and she looked about, smacking the bed and making a cloud of dust raise up causing her to sneeze.

"Its horrible seeing everything covered in dust… perfectly clean when I was alive…" Mikoto said, shaking her head in shame. Sasuke picked up a frame and brushed the dust off the glass. Kari tried to crawl across the bed to see it, but just raised more dust, making her eyes sore as she sneezed. She finally made it over and looked down at the family picture;

Mikoto and Fugaku, with Sasuke and Itachi. They both looked so young and innocent.

"You were so kawaii" Kari breathed. "You'll make pretty babies one day." Sasuke gave her an odd look then turned back to the picture, his expression hardening.

"I was eight years old, this was taken about a month or two before…" he trailed off, not wanting to continue. He allowed her to take the picture from him so she could get a better look.

"You look like your Okaasan, she's very beautiful" Kari said gently.

"Arigatou Kari-chan" Mikoto said happily.

"…You just called me beautiful. Don't say you're going fan girl on me" Sasuke said at a weak attempt of sarcasm.

"You looked happy back then, I know you can't be now, but I wish you could" Kari said sadly.

"So do I…" Sasuke sighed as she handed the picture back to him. "Let's go" he said taking her hand and pulling her up, she sneezed at the dust that floated around her.

"We should come back and clean this place you know. If you're going to live here again you don't want it falling into ruin" Kari said while Mikoto nodded in agreement.

"Yeah… We will do. And you can come live in one of the houses when I move back here" Sasuke said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders again. Kari understood his sign of gratitude and wrapped her arm around his back.

"You're welcome Sasuke…"

"Come back and visit soon! Make sure he brings you with him Kari-chan!" Mikoto called as they approached the gate. A couple more ghosts appeared beside her, watching as they left. In a gust of wind they disappeared.

"She's a good one Mikoto."

"Hai, she'll take care of him."

"I know she will" Mikoto whispered. "I just hope he takes good care of her. Be safe… both of you. And Sasuke... don't let her go."