Note: Finally got this chapter done. Really wanted to make it interesting even if I'm not that experienced with writing mystery and ghost stuff. Hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 2

Naruto felt a slight chill go through the room. "Uh…are you guys okay?" He felt somewhat silly for asking ghosts that, but he was still confused by the reaction. Shouldn't it be good that a family member survived? After a few minutes of quiet he concluded he was alone. He got into the bed, deciding he'd just have to get an answer from them tomorrow.

The next day Naruto woke up to the now usual morning clothes thing. "Thank you, Itachi." He figured it's him and not Sasuke since the younger seems only interested on creeping on him. "By the way. Sasuke's been watching me bathe and probably change. Mind talking to him about it?" A chuckle went through the room, luckily it sounded like Itachi so at least he wasn't talking to Sasuke. Or no one.

During breakfast, which was more ramen, Itachi and Sasuke appeared in the room. "So, I'm interested in what you guys do to pass the time. Does time even really matter?"

Itachi chuckled. "One of the things we do is tend the garden when we are able to interact with things."

Naruto nodded and slurped some, noticing the look Sasuke gave him. "What else do you do? Well besides messing with visitors." He locked eyes with the younger and slurped loudly. If Sasuke was going to be a creeper, then Naruto was going to be annoying.

Itachi's lip was twitched into a smirk. He was enjoying someone else teasing Sasuke. Was fun to do it but also amusing to watch. "We usually take pleasure in each other's company."

Naruto paused. "…Take pleasure…" He tried not to let his mind go to bad places. "They're brothers and royalty. And dead!"

Sasuke raised a brow, looking slightly annoyed for an entirely new reason. "Hai. You know. Talking and just being around someone? You can't be that-."

Itachi quickly cut in. "Otouto. Enough." To which Sasuke immediately was quiet. "So how do you believe you can help us?"

Naruto finished the ramen cup. "I have a friend who is really smart and is also into the paranormal. I promise he will never tell anyone about you guys. And I know you don't really want others to know, but I do need his help for this." He wouldn't do it without their permission of course.

Sasuke looked to Itachi and then back to Naruto. "That sounds fine. How long will it take him to get here." He was unfamiliar with current travel.

"I'll give him a call and he'll probably find the soonest flight. He'll let me know." He figured they at least knew about phones and planes. There were visitors here previously, right? Well, they don't look confused so that's a good sign. He paused. "Oh right. You guys felt angry before when I mentioned Madara."

Itachi sighed. "He was the outcast you can say. He tended to vanish for no reason and then would suddenly come back again. We just assumed he was here when it happened."

"Maybe he tried to figure it out?" Sasuke felt some hope in that. Madara was weird but he was still an Uchiha. And Uchihas stuck together. He looked to Itachi and corrected himself. Stick together. They were still around after all.

Naruto nodded. "That's something we can ask Shikamaru about. Let me give him a call." As he called Shikamaru, he noticed that Sasuke and Itachi were talking quietly. Which caused him to conclude they do in fact know what phones are. He hung up and turned back to them. "He says he can be here by tomorrow midday."

"Arigato." Itachi smiled and they both bowed politely before fading.

In a few seconds they appeared in their thrones. Not visible and not…real. Sasuke runs fingers 'over' the throne arm and felt nothing. He moved his hand lower and into the arm. And still felt nothing.

Itachi looked to Sasuke. "We will meet our eternal peace otouto. Trust me."

Sasuke nodded but wasn't sure he believed it anymore. It had been so very long and he was starting to forget things. As if every part of him is fading. He knows that if he could, he would be crying. He feels Itachi's hand on his shoulder and slowly calms down. Luckily, they are able to touch each other. It's what keeps them from going mad. Sasuke looked up and gave the true Uchiha determined look. "We may be able to finally figure out just what happened. Why we're here."

Itachi nodded. "It's an amazing thing to think on, that is truth." A few minutes went by before Itachi spoke again. "Why are you watching Naruto-kun as he bathes and dresses?"

Sasuke shrugged. "He is indeed pleasing to the eye. And it annoys him." He smirked at the last comment.

Itachi sighed and reached over, flicking the younger's head. It was both a reprimand as well as a confirmation they are still solid to each other. "Even though I agree with your observation on his appearance, I do not condone you bothering the person that is going to help us. He actually cares. We can't drive him away, especially with petty things like that."

Sasuke sulked but nodded. "Agreed. Gomen." He then got suspicious at a look given. "Nani?"

Itachi's look was pure cunning and revenge. "You should apologize to Naruto-kun. It is him whom you slighted."

Sasuke groaned but also agreed that it was proper. And Uchihas were always proper. Well…most of the time at least. "Very well. I'll apologize during his dinner." They should be able to keep a solid form by then. Another few minutes of comfortable silence. "He truly is the most attractive here."

Itachi rolled his eyes but also smiled. This felt normal. Calming. "And how attractive is he?"

Sasuke looked to him with a raised brow. "You want a description?"

Itachi shrugged. "It's not fair that you are the only one that gets to experience it."

Sasuke laughed, smiling with real mirth. "Well why don't you take a look as well? He won't be expecting you." He managed to dodge the hand this time. "Neh. Have some fun aniki. You didn't say you wouldn't do it. Did you?"

Itachi tilted his head in thought. "Well no, I didn't." His lips twitched into a smirk. "Always talking me into mischief. Well played, otouto."

A few hours later Naruto sat down to have ramen for lunch. Seems that's all he brought for food. Sasuke appeared across the table from him. "Do you really take offence to me watching you?"

Naruto raised a brow. "Is this your attempt at an apology?" Sasuke just shrugged to that. "It's just weird to have a ghost watch me be naked."

"Very well. I won't do it anymore." But Itachi might.

Naruto looked at him, trying to determine the truth. Finally he smiled and nodded. "Thanks." He cleared his throat and set aside his empty bowl. "So what was your life like? We have all of today to chill."

Sasuke looked rather confused suddenly. "Chill? I don't understand what you mean…"

Naruto blushed and gave a hesitant smile, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry. It's slang. I meant that we can keep each other company today. If you want that is. Sharing stories and stuff. You know?"

Sasuke wasn't sure how it happened but the rest of the day was filled with stories of family and friends. Itachi joined them at some point and Naruto decided to eat his lunch in the garden. He would have enjoyed eating outside for dinner as well, but it had started to lightly rain. So he ate inside as the brothers faded after spending so much time around. They haven't been this active in possibly their entire death. Interesting.

That night Itachi watched the blond get ready for bed. And he agreed completely with Sasuke. Naruto is truly the most attractive visitor they've had.

-o-

During Naruto's morning routine and breakfast the next day, the brothers didn't show. He figured it was to conserve their energy for when Shikamaru arrived. "I'm guessing you're not around in order to save energy. Right?" A soft hum went through the room and he took that as confirmation. Once his two ramen cups were gone, he just relaxed. "I can tell you about Shikamaru. Will probably help."

He didn't get a response but knew they could hear him. "Shika pretty much studied the paranormal out of sheer boredom. Usually how he learns all his stuff. He's actually the one who introduced me to it. And that of course started my haunted house hunting." He smiled. "He helped me during the period after my parents died. He'll definitely help you two. He throws himself into everything he does and he always gets results. Don't know how he does it but I guess his mind is just amazing."

Midday was when Shikamaru arrived, just like he said. The brothers and Shikamaru looked at each other. Then Shikamaru bowed in greeting. "Nara Shikamaru. I hope I may be of some help." Said in flawless Japanese. If that didn't make an amazing first impression, then nothing would. Once Shikamaru set down his stuff he addressed the brothers. "Would the king have had a study? Perhaps your grandfather made notes of the attacks." Silently they all went through the halls and to a large, locked door. Shikamaru knelt down and pulled out a few tools. He could feel Naruto's eyes on him but gave no explanation. He merely stood up and opened the door once a click was heard.

They went in and began searching. On the desk was a pile of papers. It looked like whoever put them there hadn't thought to clean up before leaving. And since it remained locked, no one has had access to them.

After searching through the papers for a while, Shikamaru finally found what looked like pages of a diary. "This is it." His eyes moved fast over the papers as he takes it all in. "It seems that Madara had vowed to the Gods to get revenge for his clan no matter what. After making the promise to the Gods that he'd find and release the truth, he declared what will happen to the castle after his death just in case he wouldn't be able to tell the truth of the massacre." His eyes move fast again. "He knew if that happened then someone in his family would be brought back to finish his pledge. He ordered it to be cleaned and maintained but not lived in." He shrugged. "Though apparently, they don't mind the occasional visitor now as it helps with the economy. He declared who his successor would be if the worst should happen." He set the papers down. "And when he died without the truth being known, the 'curse' awakened Itachi and Sasuke."

Itachi frowned, annoyance laced into his eyes and voice. "Why haven't we known of this?"

Shikamaru took out his laptop to do some more research. "He chose a man named Kurama as his successor. He never lived in the castle. According to this he created and lived in his own castle elsewhere. He ruled a bit differently but still kept up Madara's wishes." He switched to reading the papers again. "Interesting. He makes mention of an 'Oto King' but I'm not sure who that is." Both he and Naruto looked up at the feelings of rage coming from the two spirits.

"He was our enemy from the very beginning." Itachi's voice was filled with disgust and hatred.

Sasuke's tone mirrored his brother, eyes venomous and the air almost seeming to crackle around him. "He killed and tortured women and children. Burned and pillaged. Just because he felt like it."

Shikamaru frowned at that and read some more. "Madara was away at the time so when he returned it was to the massacre. From the looks of all these legal papers he had been overwhelmed with needing to protect Konoha and taking over the mantel of Kinghood. Seems he wasn't given much time to find the truth about the massacre." His eyes moved over another entry.

King's Entry: "It has been three years since the assassination. Three years of searching and grief. I have now found enough proof that it was coordinated by King Orochimaru of the Oto kingdom. He sent his Snake's Venom and poisoned my family. I still do not know the actual plan yet. But I will find out."

King's Entry: "I have found detailed scrolls of Orochimaru's plan of attack. Snake's Venom is named and was assigned to lead it and target specific members. Specifically Mikoto, Fugaku, Itachi, and Sasuke. I am close to honoring the clan."

Shikamaru's voice was not pleased as he looked at the next entry. "This last entry shows that he immediately acted without informing anyone else, other than a quick recording of intent."

King's Entry: "It is time to strike. I will go into the snake's den. I pray I can release the truth. If not, then I will exterminate the nest and drain the Venom."

"This isn't enough proof. We need to know what those scrolls said." His frustration actually tinged his voice. It's really hard to shake the Nara.

Naruto's eyes moved slowly over the office. "Would Madara have taken and hidden them?" It's rumored that castles and such have secret hallways and chambers. In fact, Naruto's known this to be true in some of the previous castles he's been to. Though all of those were fakes of course. But this castle might be similar in it.

Sasuke nodded. "That definitely sounds like something Madara would do." He looked to his brother. "Remember the old rooms? That library we found?"

Seems Naruto's thoughts were right. "We'll search in here first and then if we can't find something we'll spread out." They all began moving throughout the room to find any sign of a hidden panel or even a room.

Itachi paused in front of a portrait. It was of the clan fan and also slightly crooked. He frowned and calmly straightened it. A very soft click was heard and out of curiosity he pushed against it. It swung open to show a secret room with lots of scrolls, all with the royal seal keeping them bound.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Awesome! Your grandfather was pretty cool." Guess he figured if someone came in here, they wouldn't bother straightening a portrait.

Sasuke simply shrugged though. "Maybe. We didn't know him much."

Shikamaru went into the small room and looked through the scrolls, pleased to find them all labeled in a sense with dates. His frustration begins to grow again as he couldn't seem to find ones that fit the time frame. After pulling out another to check, he noticed that one was pushed all the way to the back and had no actual date on it. He pulled it out and returned to the study. Quickly he went to the desk and broke the seal. "This has to be it." It's also a different type of paper than all the others. His eyes moved fast over it to find the part they need. "In an attempt to weaken the Konoha kingdom, King Orochimaru of Oto sends his personal assassin. The Snake's Venom will wipe out the entire Uchiha clan. After the deaths Oto will take Konoha and absorb it and its people, making the kingdom even larger."

Naruto stood by, looking at the foreign symbols. Maybe he should learn Japanese…it'd be polite to his parents for sure. "But is the plan itself described? Like who the 'Snake's Venom' is?"

A nod is given. "The assassins will infiltrate the castle in the dead of night with no moon. They will use poison daggers on all the guards as that will ensure death even when they continue on to complete the mission. The Snake's Venom (Kabuto) will use King Orochimaru's own katana to slice the throats of the royal family. He will kill the two princes first and then the king and queen. Be aware that the princes are close and therefore may be in the same room."

Itachi scowled and lightly pulled Sasuke against him. "They had been watching us for a while then…they knew all that."

Shikamaru gently rolled the scroll back up. "Did you know who this Kabuto is?"

Sasuke shrugged. "He was Orochimaru's Captain of the Guard. Makes sense that he is the one who did it. He was rumored to be the favorite and possibly even worshipped Orochimaru."

Itachi rolled his eyes. "He was indeed the favorite. I highly doubt he worshipped the man." His expression turned thoughtful. "…I remember a flash of glasses…Kabuto wore glasses." Makes a lot more sense now.

Silence flowed through the room for a few breaths before Naruto spoke. "So to break the curse, the truth had to be found out and told. We found it out. Now to tell it." He knew he could use his connection to Jiraiya to be able to get it told. Not everyone will believe it of course, but the truth will be revealed. Remembering his first promise, he looked to Itachi and Sasuke. "May we tell your story?"

They both bowed with grateful expressions. "Hai."

-6 Years Later-

Naruto was currently living in Japan. Actually, in Konoha. He had moved here shortly after the incident with the brothers.

When he had returned to America he and Shikamaru went to Jiraiya to explain all the details. The man did something that Naruto has never seen before. He stopped writing (and researching) his other books in order to devote his time to making this. He and Shikamaru worked to make sure the details were correct. It was published a week later as a five page article in a rather popular magazine.

Naruto had returned with a copy of it to show the brothers. "Figured you'd want to read it before you leave."

The brothers had read it and gave approving smiles. They gave one final bow in great thanks before they slowly faded into the sunlight. At peace after all these years.

It felt right on many levels to live in Konoha and it's not like he had much waiting for him back in America. Here he was able to start his own ramen shop and stop doing haunted houses. He was still in touch with the old man of course. Jiraiya had even offered to help pay with the move. He was thrilled Naruto was out living his life just like his parents would have wanted. He also often visited the castle to pay respects. Sasuke and Itachi may not be there anymore but it felt right. Sometimes he would even just wander the halls, talking as if they were in fact still around.

And then on one amazing day in the market, he saw Sasuke again but as a living child with a young Itachi. He recognized them from the paintings of them young in the castle. The three-year-old looked at Naruto and gave a smile. When Sasuke tugged on his brother's shirt, six-year-old Itachi looked over and gave a soft smile as well. Both bowed politely as if in thanks, before turning and disappearing into the crowd of the market. Naruto felt joy fill him at the proof that the curse was lifted. Castle Uchiha was definitely the best, and most fulfilling, haunted home he's ever visited.

The End

Note: I know it's not the most interesting (or lengthy) thing I've written, but I really wanted to try a ghost story. Give me some chatter!