Chapter 11: Hidden Treasure

Shikamaru and his team looked up at the old castle towering over them at the top of a hill. Thick vines hugged the stone surface and, based on the building's condition, was the only thing holding it together.

"What a dump," said Ino. "This place is really a hotel? Who would come here?"

"Besides us?" Choji asked, finishing his last potato chip.

"This place has a historical background," explained Shikamaru. "It was once home to a royal family and was converted to a hotel years ago after it's been sitting empty and no heir claimed it."

"What happened to the family?" asked Choji.

"Some sort of attack wiped them out." Shikamaru stepped forward towards the main door. "I'm sure we'll hear the whole tale when we get inside. The history makes this place a tourist attraction."

The interior was furnished with old chairs and tables, giving it an historic feel the second they walked in. Even the red rug, though new, was an old design. The front desk was made of polished wood which only enhanced its aged look and feel.

Ino didn't like the feel of the hotel, even though the staff was friendly. It gave her creepy vibes.

"Hello," said a bellhop, startling her.

"Jeez, Ino, you think this place is haunted or something?" Choji asked, seeing how jumpy she was.

"Oh, but it is," said the manager at the front desk. "The legend of this hotel is an important part of this land's history. The tragic tale of the royal couple who had to flee in the night to escape a terrible raid on their home."

Ino's skin crawled, the sinister tone in the man's voice creeping her out even more.

"Ohh-ho-ho," said Choji, quite entertained. "A local legend, huh? And at a haunted hotel? How cliché but awesome."

"Not awesome," Ino scolded. "I'm not staying at a haunted hotel."

"Come on," said Choji with a smile on his face. "Haunted hotels are easy to come by and very popular. People stay in them for fun."

"Fun?! Those people are insane!" Ino rubbed her exposed arms, her skin still crawling.

"What's this legend?" Shikamaru asked the older gentleman behind the desk.

"Don't ask him that!" Ino snapped, wanting to sleep that night.

"I wanna know," said Choji, taking out another bag of chips, treating it like dinner and a show.

The manager gestured to a painting mounted on the wall beside the front desk. "It's a rich history, but I'll just tell you the tale of the royal family that used to live in this castle many, many years ago."

"Please don't," Ino moaned, though she was also a little bit curious.

"The royal family had a daughter and when she came of age, they hoped she would wed another member of royalty. However, she had been in a secret romantic relationship with a man from the town and had married in secret. When the town found out, they were furious because the man's family was not well-liked in the community. They came in the night to lay siege to the castle. The royal family must have gotten word of their plans because they had fled the castle before they arrived. Leaving their home and treasure behind, the family fled in hast but the mob caught them and wiped them all out. Legend has it that they haunt this castle, guarding the treasure they left behind."

"Treasure?" Choji and Ino asked at once.

"Can't have a royal family without treasure," said the man. "But it's just a story. Rest assured, the castle's been searched many times and no treasure has been found. Though… every once in a while, a guest finds something mysterious and that's when… Boom!"

Ino flinched at the man's sudden cry.

"A ghost appears and frightens them away." The man smiled. "We haven't searched every inch because of the ghost. We believe they're still protecting it and appear when someone gets close to their treasure. The staff leaves well enough alone, but that doesn't stop some guests from trying to find it themselves. I won't stop you because there's no need."

"The ghosts will…!" The bellhop moaned eerily with his fingers clawing the air around Ino's head. Ino smacked him in more annoyance than fear and the bellhop backed off, holding his throbbing shoulder with a whimper.

"Uh-huh," Shikamaru said flatly. "Well, three to check in, please."

The bellhop took what little luggage they had up the carpeted staircase towards their rooms. Ino was getting a private room while Shikamaru and Choji would share, something Ino was already having second thoughts about. The manager was very insistent, saying they had more than enough rooms to accommodate them and that it was improper for a young lady not to have her own room when traveling with boys.

Ino eyed the paintings on the wall nervously, staying so close to Choji that she almost stepped on his ankles. Some of the paintings were creeping her out. All the stoic faces of people she didn't know watching her as she passed by. Even the dreary scenic paintings had an eerie feel to them. A painting of a farm done in faded autumn colors looked like a foggy landscape waiting to swallow them up. Anything could be hiding in the aged canvas, just waiting for her to turn away so a hand could reach out and grab her from behind. For this reason, she didn't turn her back to it.

Their footsteps hardly made a sound on the smooth carpet. The wood walls of the corridor felt thick, making their path feel narrow and making them wonder if the individual rooms were soundproof as a result.

"Here we are." The bellhop put down their luggage to open the first door with a silver key. "The lady's suite. And the gentlemen's are right across the hall adjacent."

"We're not next to each other?" Ino asked, looking worried.

"It's just across the hall from each other," said the bellhop. "You'll find it's better that way in case they snore. Not that you'd hear it with walls this thick."

"Ino should be used to it by now," said Choji, knowing he snored.

"Sorry to say that these rooms don't have their own bathrooms, but there's one at the end of the hall here on your right." The bellhop gestured with his arm towards the door marked 'restroom' in metal letters. "If there's anything you should need, there's usually someone at the front desk at all hours of the day and night. I'm on the clock until two in the morning, so I'll be happy to assist you until then. Anything else you need?"

"No, thanks, we're good," said Shikamaru, answering for his team.

"There's free breakfast in the morning from six to nine in the dining hall to the left of the main desk. Follow the signs."

"Thank you," said Choji appreciatively.

The bellhop retreated down the stairs and Ino looked at the boys with her hands on her hips. "Well, what are you standing around for? Get in the room. I don't want to be out in this creepy hall." She shoved them into the room, not giving them a choice.

"Your room is that way," Choji reminded her.

"I know that." Ino closed the door and locked it and listened to make sure there was no one walking around on the other side. "This place gives me the creeps. I can't believe we have to spend the whole night here."

"We get a free breakfast," Choji told her.

"So do most places." Ino put her back against the door and crossed her arms. "This sucks. I don't know how I'll be able to sleep tonight."

"Wanna stay with us? They only charged us for one room."

"Fat chance, Choji." She kept talking, hoping he wouldn't notice the word she accidently threw in there, though it wasn't directed at him. "I'm not a scared six-year-old."

"No, but you'll bellyache like one," Shikamaru said as he investigated the room. The room may have been old but it was clean. There was only one bed but it was huge and Shikamaru didn't mind sharing with Choji.

"How can you be so blasé about this?" Ino asked, annoyed. "Doesn't this place creep you out?"

"Nah." Shikamaru looked at his reflection in the old mirror on the vanity and opened the drawers one after another, seeing what was inside. All of them were empty. "This place isn't that bad."

Ino shook her head in contempt.

Shikamaru cracked a smile at his own reflection. "We might be the only guests here tonight. Wonder how that will affect things."

Ino had a large four-poster bed all to herself, though she couldn't enjoy it. She was having a hard time sleeping, each and every noise putting her on edge. The windows were closed, but the curtains would rustle occasionally. Creaks and thumps would have her sitting up in bed looking around but there was never anything there.

Fed up with the feeling, Ino left her room to complain to the manager. She planned on letting him know about the draft in her room and the strange noises and hoped to get some kind of compensation.

The lights around the front desk were on but no one was around. She rang the bell but no one came. "Hello?" she called. "Someone's at the front desk to complain around something. Hello?"

She wandered over to the sign directing her to the dining area. There was a long table with a white tablecloth held down but several candelabras. The room was dark but she could see those details because of the large rectangular windows lining the wall behind it. The curtains hadn't been drawn, allowing light from outside into the room.

She heard a creaking sound and went back to the front desk, thinking someone had shown up. "Hello? Anyone there? I'd like to complain."

The clock above the desk said it was a little after one in the morning. The bellhop should have been on the clock for another hour. He also said that there was usually someone at the front desk to help them with anything they needed.

"The service at this place is a joke." Ino rang the bell again. "Hello? Anyone here?" She was starting to get angry.

There was a loud thud from the stairs and she jumped. It sounded like someone had dropped a suitcase or something. She went over to the stairs to check it out but no one was there. She called up the stairs but there was no answer. When she went back to the front desk, she jumped again in fright.

A small doll sat with its limbs around the bell, button eyes looking at Ino.

"That wasn't there before." She would have seen it, considering how many times she had rung the bell. She began to back away from the front desk.

Longing for the safety of her room, Ino returned to the second floor and inserted her key into the door of her room. She opened it and froze with one foot inside the dark room.

The curtains were wide open, highlighting the figure standing in the middle of her room. The figure with long hair and flowing dress turned towards her, arm reaching.

Screaming, Ino pulled the door shut and ran the few steps across the hall to the boys' room and let herself in. They had promised not to lock their door just in case she needed to get in for any reason. It seemed they had kept their promise.

"Shikamaru! Choji!"

She dove into their bed and pulled the pillows out from under their heads. Shikamaru's head hit the backboard and he clutched his skull, moaning painfully. Choji held up his arm to protect himself from Ino's onslaught. When they didn't get up fast enough, she began beating Choji over the head with his own pillow.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

"Ino, please!"

"Ghosts! Ghosts!" she shrieked.

When the pillow-beating stopped, both boys sat up, looking at her dubiously. "Huh?"

She pointed at the door. "There was a ghost standing in my room!"

"That was your reflection in the vanity mirror," Choji said, thinking she had the same layout in her room as theirs.

"No! It was standing in front of the window!"

"Your reflection."

"It moved! It was wearing a dress! It was a ghost!"

Shikamaru flopped back down on the bed. "It was probably just a mannequin."

"Why would there be a mannequin in a hotel room?" Choji asked him.

"Mannequins don't move!" Ino screamed. "I know what I saw! I told you this place was creepy!"

Moaning, Shikamaru reluctantly got out of bed. "She's not going away until we look for the monster under her bed."

"I'm serious!" Ino threw the pillow at him, even though he was doing what she wanted.

They went back across the hall to Ino's room and turned on the lights. The curtains were open, as she described, but there was no one in the room.

"I swear it was right here!" Ino stomped her foot on the spot where it had stood. "I caught a glimpse of it but it had long hair and a dress. It was mostly an outline but I know what I saw."

Choji rubbed his eyes. "You sure it wasn't a trick of the light? Or the dark, in this case? I mean, you admitted you didn't have the lights on. The shadows could…"

Ino snarled at them. "It was right here! I'm telling you! It moved and everything."

Shikamaru looked around the room slowly. He checked the windows to make sure they were locked and they were. He pulled the curtains shut and looked to see if anything changed in the room. He looked behind Ino's bed and behind the vanity. All the while, Ino told them everything she had witnessed.

"And then there was this doll just sitting there. It wasn't there before and then it was. Then I came back up here and opened the door and there it was. I'm telling you!"

"Maybe you went into someone else's room by mistake," Choji suggested.

"I did not!" Ino pointed. "I ran directly across the hall to your room. And I had to open the door with my key which worked. It wasn't someone else's room."

"And you think it was a ghost because how else could someone get in if the door was locked and you had the key?"

"Exactly. The staff would have a key, but no one was down there because the service is terrible."

"No, they're doing their job," said Shikamaru coming to sit on the foot of Ino's bed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Shikamaru smirked. "I wasn't worried the second we got here because I already understood how this place works."

"Meaning what exactly?"

"You guys heard the tale, right? About the couple who fled in the night leaving their treasure behind in the castle?"

"What about it?" asked Ino.

"This place got turned into a hotel years ago and it's still standing. I get the castle still being here if it's a historical landmark, but the hotel being in business? How is that? Take a look around. The castle is in the middle of nowhere surrounded by a forest. We had to cross a bridge to get here from town. There's nothing that would make tourists flock here aside from the old stories. Stories that tell of a treasure and ghosts."

"What is your point?" Ino asked him.

"If there really was a treasure, the people who opened this hotel would have used it and wouldn't need to keep this hotel open. But that wouldn't stop treasure hunters from coming. The manager said this place had already been searched, so I doubt there even is one and if there were, it's long gone by now. Probably collected for taxes or in a museum. So how would this place make any money? What's drawing people here? Treasure is a nice allure, but there's something else that sparks interest."

Choji nodded. "Oh, I get it."

Shikamaru nodded back with a smile. "A good ghost story. People come here to see if the tales are true. People love a good ghost story and would love to pay a visit to such a place."

"Those people are nuts," said Ino. However, she was starting to see Shikamaru's point.

"That's how this place stays in business. They made up the whole haunted hotel thing to bring in tourists when the tales weren't enough. Now that the place has a reputation, there's something to attract tourists. But making up tales isn't enough. You need proof. Or what looks like proof."

Ino frowned. "You're saying there was no one at the front desk because they were off playing hotel ghost?"

"Well, you did see one in your room after you left it and when there was no one at the front desk. The staff would also have keys to every room in the hotel. I bet they've been scaring hotel guests to bring in more customers who hear the tale." Shikamaru stood up. "They're probably running around the hotel now getting your money's worth. We don't even know how much of the story is true. They could have embellished to make it a better ghost story and run with it."

Ino watched Shikamaru head for the door. "Whether the ghosts are real or not, there's no way I'm staying here."

"I can hang here for a bit to see if someone shows up," offered Choji.

"Do what you want, but I need to use the bathroom." Shikamaru opened the door and went into the hall.

Ino frowned at the ceiling and walls. "I know they had a key but I don't buy it."

"Still think it was ghosts?" Choji asked.

Ino started to look behind the furniture. "Hard to say. Help me check something out. See if there's another way in here."

Shikamaru yawned on his way back from the bathroom. He couldn't believe Ino had woken him up for this. He hoped he would be able to get back to sleep.

"Hm?" He saw something at the end of the hall. It looked like a girl. Maybe it was the hotel staff member who had dressed up to scare Ino in her room. He decided to follow them.

As he got closer, he realized the girl was a lot smaller than she appeared from further away. This was a child. He briefly wondered if this was the daughter of a hotel guest but when he got a good look at her outfit, he knew that was unlikely. Her clothes were old, dating back several decades.

She must have been working at the hotel, too. Or the child of one of the workers and got roped into this charade.

She ran from Shikamaru when he got close and hid in the shadows of a different hall.

"It's ok," he said. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The girl stayed hidden.

"You lost? Need help?"

The girl peered at him cautiously.

"If you need help, I'll help you. Can you tell me your name?"

The girl stepped towards him but kept her distance. "Greta."

"Your name's Greta? That's a nice name. Can you tell me what you're doing out here in the middle of the night?"

Greta gripped the folds of her dress as she spoke, clearly a nervous habit. "I heard a scream and lots of yelling. Sounded like fighting."

Shikamaru chuckled and crouched down to be at the child's level. "Nah, that was my friend. She thought she saw something in her room but we told her it was a trick."

Any suspicions of this girl being the one in Ino's room were long gone after Shikamaru assessed the child's height and hair length. It couldn't possibly be her.

"Say," said Shikamaru, "you wouldn't happen to have a doll, would you? My friend said she saw one at the front desk. Is it yours?"

Greta shook her head. "No. I don't go down there. I'm not supposed to go on the first floor."

"I see." Shikamaru stood up. "Well, do you need me to walk you to your room? It's late and we should both be sleeping."

Greta gave him a concerned look. "Are you a treasure hunter?"

"Nah," Shikamaru replied. "I don't care about all that stuff. Gold would just weigh me down and it'd be too troublesome to carry."

"People wander the halls at night looking for treasure."

"I'm not one of them. I just needed a place to sleep. I'll leave in the morning with my friends."

Greta turned her body slightly as if to lead him somewhere. "Before you do, could you please help me?"

Shikamaru figured this little girl needed an escort to her room and agreed. "Sure, what do you need?"

"Come with me." Greta moved quickly down the hall. Shikamaru managed to keep up without having to run, disappearing into the dark hallway.

She took him down another corridor and over to a pedestal supporting a small statue. She asked Shikamaru to move the heavy perch a few inches to the side, which he did. It took considerable effort to move the heavy items which he knew the girl would never be able to do herself. Once they were set aside, the girl pushed against the planks below the wallpaper with all her might. Shikamaru pushed with her and the wall opened inward, revealing a secret passage just big enough to crawl through.

"I see," remarked Shikamaru with a smirk. "I figured there had to be something like this in the building."

"Come on," she urged. "I know all the ins and outs of this place. I'll show you the way."

Shikamaru followed the girl, closing the hidden door as he did. He knew there must have been multiple hidden passages and doors, so he wasn't worried when he shut the door. It was likely that one of these passages led to Ino's room.

Ino's hand gave way under a board along the wall and she gave a cry of triumph. "Ah-ha!"

"What is it?" Choji asked, turning.

Ino pushed the board into the wall, revealing a handle. When pulled, part of the wall opened up leading to a narrow crawlspace. She slid inside and moved behind her vanity where she discovered a peephole just above the mirror which had a perfect view of her bed. "I knew it."

"Cool," said Choji, seeing the crawlspace. "Does it lead anywhere else? Hey, look. It keeps going that way."

Ino continued in the direction Choji was pointing and found another hidden door in the wall. When opened, it led to the room right next to hers.

"So that's why they didn't want us to have our rooms right next to each other. The guy must have gone into this one to use the hidden door which led to your room. That's also probably how they left your room without anyone noticing. They just went into this one so when you came back to yours it would be empty."

"And using that peephole to spy on me. I feel so violated." Ino clicked her tongue in anger. "The weird noises I heard was probably a worker thumping around in the wall. Explains the rustling curtain, too. Probably kicked up a draft moving around."

"Heh," said Choji. "Looks like Shikamaru was right. This place is just a lot of smoke and mirrors."

Ino put her hands on her hips. "Well, I'm not letting them get away with it that easy."

"Is it really that bad?" Choji asked her. "I mean, the people did pay to stay at a supposedly haunted hotel. Is it so wrong that they made it into what people were expecting?"

"Themed hotels and gimmicks are one thing, but I wasn't amused. Besides…" Ino whirled around with her fist clenched. "Nobody spies on me and gets away with it! If that perv saw me change clothes, I'll kill him!"

Shikamaru crawled deeper and deeper into the narrow crevasses behind the walls, following the girl who scaled them easily, as nimble and confident as any child her age.

"It's just up this way," she told him, urging him on.

Shikamaru was having a hard time fitting through some of these passages, especially the ones going up to a different floor. He wondered if this space was meant to be used for travel, but supposed if the passages were too big, people would suspect there was something in the walls.

Climbing the box-like steps, Shikamaru came to an area with a low ceiling and no child. "Greta?" he called but she didn't answer. "Greta?" It seemed he lost sight of her.

He felt his way over to a shallow nook riddled with cobwebs and old pipes. He was careful not to brush against the nails sticking out of the wall, but he did feel the area above his head and found a latch. Turning it, the trapdoor above him swung upward and he stuck his head into an old storage room.

Old boxes and antiques covered in stained sheets and dust and more cobwebs. The hinges of the trapdoor creaked as he opened it further to allow himself room to get out. He closed it and looked around the dark room which only had one narrow path with which to maneuver around all the objects collecting dust.

"This stuff used to be in the main area before the staff moved it up here."

Shikamaru flinched slightly, hearing Greta's voice from behind some of the tarps. "Put it in storage when they made the place into a hotel, huh?"

"Uh-huh." Greta bounced to the only window in the room and pointed. "That's where we're going."

Shikamaru slid over to the window and saw the vine-encrusted tower of the castle. It was close to where they were now but there was no easy way to get there. Looking down, Shikamaru saw the roof of the catwalk connecting this part of the building to the tower but it was narrow and falling apart. He could see patches of stone and wood from where shingles were missing and, in some cases, where chunks of building were missing entirely. Even with his jutsu, it wouldn't be safe to cross.

"There a secret path to the tower?" Shikamaru asked Greta.

"No, there isn't," she told him. "The people who work here tried to find one and messed up part of the foundation."

"That explains the missing chunks," he said with a sigh. "How do we get there, then?"

"There's stairs in the tower we can take. The best way is through that window on the side." Greta pointed to a window on the side of the tower just above and to the side of the roof of the catwalk.

Shikamaru grimaced when he saw the added effort and the danger of going that route. "We should take the catwalk and get to the window from there."

Greta shook her head and stood in his way. "The foundation's no good after what the people did to it. That whole area leading to the tower isn't safe."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "You're saying we need to go above the catwalk instead of through it?"

"Uh-huh. I Know the way. Come on." Greta ran around him to the window.

"That's too dangerous. If we can get to the…" Shikamaru's eyes widened. "Greta, don't!"

The girl jumped from the window, disappearing instantly. Shikamaru rushed to the window and looked straight down but he didn't see her in the grass or shrubs.

"Over here!"

He looked and saw her standing on the roof of the catwalk waving her arms happily. Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief.

"The roof is safer than the place inside," Greta told him. "Just watch your step. That's how other people ended up falling."

Shikamaru shuddered and climbed onto the edge of the window. He tried to aim for the sturdiest part of the roof and jumped. He landed exactly where he wanted without disturbing the shingles underfoot.

Greta nodded up and down. "You did great. Better than most people I've seen trying to reach the tower."

"Just watch your step, Greta," he told her. "If you fall…"

Greta walked carefully with her arms out to either side for balance. Once at the end of the catwalk, she jumped to the window and pulled herself up and inside. "Now it's your turn," she informed him encouragingly.

Shikamaru walked slowly and carefully across the catwalk. Parts of the roof began to crumble with each passing step. A loud creaking noise spooked Shikamaru and he jumped towards the window as part of the roof gave way under him. He grabbed the edge of the window but the brick gave in his grip and he fell, Greta calling after him as she watched him drop.

Shikamaru used his shadow to grab the frame of the window to slow himself and from there, Shikamaru used his chakra to adhere to the wall and climbed the rest of the way. He threw himself onto the stairs by Greta's feet.

"You did great!" she cheered.

"This place is falling apart around us. Just where are you taking me?"

Greta hurried up the steps. "To the tower. Hurry!"

Shikamaru climbed to the only room in the tower and looked around. There was a desk, two chairs and some old paintings which had been severely damaged. He felt along the walls for a hidden passage but there was nothing around. It looked like a dead end.

"Lots of people have been in this tower looking for treasure, but there isn't one in the tower."

"Then what is in the tower?" Shikamaru asked.

Greta smiled. "Another secret."

Shikamaru raised his brow at her words and looked around the circular room. There was one window overlooking the forest and the ocean beyond it. Was this room a clue? Or the location? He thumped his foot on the floor to see if there was a trapdoor but he detected nothing. There was a hearth but it was old and didn't seem to have anything mysterious about it. No buttons, no hidden doors. What was he supposed to look for?

"You going to tell me or…?" Shikamaru trailed off, noticing something.

In the narrow chimney, Shikamaru saw what appeared to be a piece of weathered stone, charred from the fireplace, but that didn't make sense. The stone shouldn't be charred, and even so, shouldn't have been from this far away. Shikamaru had to stand with his head and shoulders in the chimney just to reach it, but once he was in the tight space, he couldn't see anything. His body cut off the light, leaving him to fumble his way in the dark.

"Are you ok?" asked Greta's muffled voice. "You stuck?"

"No," he grunted, twisting inside the chimney. "Just trying to feel my way…"

His fingers brushed the stone which was rough to the touch. Distinctive bumps garnered Shikamaru's attention. Stones like this were normally rough, almost like brick, but this felt like braille.

No wonder no one discovered the trick. Normally symbols were carved into stone, not the other way around. Instead of an indentation in the stone's surface, there were bumps projecting outward, almost completely indistinctive from the surface of the stone.

If there was one, then there may have been another. Shikamaru rotated his body in the chimney until he found another stone that felt the same as this one. "I think I got it."

He pushed one and then the other but nothing happened. Understanding what he was meant to do, he pushed them both at the same time and the floor under him opened up and shallowed him into a long shoot.

He heard Greta call over his surprised shout as he plunged into darkness.

The hotel manager sifted through the papers and money on a coffee table in a well-furnished room devoid of windows. There was only one door which was marked 'private' on the other side. A door he kept locked most of the time. Even now it was locked, but that didn't mean someone couldn't get in. In fact, he was expecting someone to. Just not who showed up in that second.

A hidden door in the wall slid open sideways and out stepped Ino. "I knew it," she said as she stepped into the well-lit room.

The manager jumped so high, he nearly summersaulted over the back of the couch. "Wh- what are you doing here? I mean, how did you get in here?"

"Through your system of hidden passages," Ino explained, pointing back the way she came. "The ones you've been using to scare hotel guests with your phony ghost stories."

The manager stood up quickly. "I- I have no idea what you're talking about."

A second door opened from inside a closet and out came the mysterious woman Ino had seen in her room. "The girl went to the boy's room but I can't find anyone of them in there and the front desk…" The bellhop pulled off the wig and, with the long hair no longer in his eyes, stopped short the second he saw Ino standing there. "Uh…"

Ino folded her arms and gave the manager a stern look. "Mm-hmm."

As the bellhop went to retreat, Choji closed the closet door with a smile on his face. "This tunnel's amazing, the one you just used. It's wide enough for me to move in without tipping you off and opens into a closet and everything. Bet it's the perfect place to use as a changing room, huh?"

The bellhop pointed at the manager. "He made me do it!"

"What?!"

"Start talking before we let everyone know this hotel's a big scam," Ino demanded sternly.

The bellhop and manager sat on the couch like children being scolded by their parents.

"I never meant any harm," said the manager. "This hotel is my everything. If it fails, I have nothing to fall back on. I even live in the next wing in one of the rooms intended for royal servants. If the hotel goes out of business, I'm homeless."

"The hotel was never booming," said the bellhop. "I was employed years ago back when it first started. I'm one of the original employees. The others quit when the hotel started going under. No guests meant no money so they tried their luck elsewhere. I stayed because I couldn't get work anywhere else. And I felt bad for the guy." He looked at the manager with pity in his eyes.

"Whose idea was it to have this bogus story?" Ino asked.

"The story isn't fake," said the manager. "It's based on actual historical events. That's why it's a historic landmark. There really was a royal family and there really was a forbidden romance between the heiress and the man she eloped with. And they really were attacked the night they fled their castle and killed. All that's true."

"But no ghosts," said Choji.

The manager hung his head with his hands in his lap. "I figured with a history like that, it would make sense for there to be ghosts hanging around. Even if we had to create them ourselves."

"He made the costumes and I would dress up like the heiress and frighten guests," said the bellhop. "We figured that it would get people's attention and they'd want to come here. I spread a rumor about there being ghosts but when no one saw any… The hurtful things they said… I dressed up and made sure they saw me. After that, word spread and we started doing better. I'd only do it to a few people to maintain interest."

"We found the hidden passages years ago and decided to use them. Many of them we found by accident. When we found one, we would follow it and see where it led and found other hidden doors that way. It seemed like the perfect way to pull this off."

"We made sure no one ever got hurt. It was just a quick scare. And I never went after anyone who looked like they couldn't handle it. Like elderly folk and children who'd have nightmares. We didn't get many of them and most of the people coming here are doing it to see ghosts. I was just giving them what they wanted."

"What about the whole treasure thing?" Choji asked. "That part embellished or what?"

The manager sighed, looking at his feet. "Rumors of the royal's treasure has circulated over the years and was searched before it became a hotel by professionals. Naturally, I've searched this place many times but have never found anything. If I did, I wouldn't need this hotel business to feed myself."

Choji nodded. "Just like Shikamaru said."

"Some people got carried away, thinking it was in that old tower, but they've found nothing and the foundation's almost shot so it isn't safe to go there anymore. I've made professionals use ropes and ladders to climb it but there's nothing there." The manager slumped sadly in his seat. "Someone must have made up the rumor the same way we did with the ghost. I don't think there's any treasure here."

"Ahhh! Uhn!" Shikamaru slid hard into a wall and landed on his back. The sheer drop had curved into a slide, guiding him sideways and easing his fall. He stood brushing himself off and looked around. He could hear a faint roaring sound, telling him there was water nearby.

He found a door and walked through it. It was old and the hinges were rusted. If it had been locked, there was nothing keeping it shut anymore. The door led to yet another room which had a dank and moldy smell to it. He saw crates stacked to one side along the wall and figured the other smell must have been spoiled food. If this was a storage locker of some sort, it would make sense for it to be rotten after all these years.

He made his way over to the only window and looked out at the sea. A perfect, unspoiled view of the endless sea and the pink hue stretching along the horizon, signifying dawn's approach. He watched for a while until there was enough light for him to see the rest of the hidden room.

"You did it," cheered Greta as she skipped from the door over to him. "No one else could figure it out. No matter how many people went in there."

Shikamaru started moving some things around in the room. "Am I not the first person you asked for help?"

Greta stood in front of the window, watching him. "Not many people pay attention to me. I'm supposed to stay hidden."

Shikamaru moved an old painting aside. His breath caught in his throat. A tingling sensation spread from the tips of his fingers up his elbow and into his spine. He rested the painting against a crate and gave the girl a sad smile.

"I bet you had to stay out of sight a lot, huh?" he asked her. "It must have been lonely for you."

"It's ok," she said. "I learned all this castle's secrets."

And Shikamaru now knew them as well. Including the one everyone had been searching for.

"You're a good girl, Greta. You made sure the royal family's treasure was kept hidden all this time."

"Mom told me that someone would come looking for me. That I had to stay here until they did. Someone who wanted to help me and not hurt me."

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah," he said softly. "Your mom really loves you, Greta."

She smiled at him.

"The royal treasure was found, so you don't have to stay here anymore. You did well. Go be with your family," Shikamaru told her quietly.

The sun crept over the horizon and into the window where Shikamaru stood alone in the secret room.

The heiress was in a secret relationship the town didn't approve of. Upon hearing the castle would be stormed by angry townspeople, the family had to act quickly and protected their treasure first. They secured it in a secret location known only to them and took the only bridge to lure the mob away from their home, with every intention of coming back for what they left behind.

Shikamaru bowed his head in silent prayer before the portrait of the royal family holding an infant in their arms and the skeleton clad in an old dress lying beside it.

The royal family's secret treasure was their daughter.