"Release her, Sasuke! I'm here!"

Naruto sprung open the door to his apartment and, in a fit of nervousness, he marched inside. The first thing that met his confused gaze and caused his brows to wrinkle together in added consternation was the nice aroma of coffee that overwhelmed the olfactory senses in his brain, and with increasing puzzlement, he blinked and continued further inside. However, his nervous expressions and his pounding heart subsided at the view of his best friend, sitting elegantly on his grey armchair and watching soap operas with a cup of coffee firmly clutched in her hand. Blinking once again, this time in growing relief, his head tilted to the side in wonder as he stared at her.

"Sakura?"

The pink haired female turned away from the screen and grinned upon seeing her friend stroll into the living room. "Naruto! What brings you here?"

Still confused by the fact that she was well and kicking, he attempted to make certain she wasn't pretending, or being threatened to fake her state of wellbeing, by asking: "Sakura, you're alright?"

"A very odd question to ask before greeting someone, don't you think?"

"Umm...y-yeah, I guess, but are you okay?"

Sakura muted the volume of the television and silenced the foreigners who were intruding on her conversation. Racking her brains for a solution to the set of problems at hand, she answered with a bored tone. "Should there be a reason why I wouldn't be?"

"...Hmm...I guess not."

"Then why ask a stupid question when there's no reason for it?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he made his way closer to her. "Y-yeah, I would want to know the answer to that question myself."

"Seriously, Naruto, you really should get help, because you're getting crazier by the minute." She sighed, before she added in a suspicious tone. "Besides that, why are you here? Shouldn't you be in a ring somewhere boxing someone to death?"

Still trying to pinpoint what was wrong, Naruto countered her with a question of his own. "You don't remember talking to me? Just an hour ago... you were talking to me on the phone, saying something about me pranking you and then..."

"And then?"

When he saw that his words clearly fell on deaf ears and that this girl before him held no memory of their previous phone call, the blond shook his head and gave her a smile. "Never mind... but are you sure you're fine though?"

"Okay, I'm starting to get suspicious here. Seriously, what's wrong Naruto?"

"Nothing, nothing... I was just making sure you're fine. You know how you've been complaining that all the work is being thrown on your shoulders and that no one was helping you for these past few weeks? I was just trying to see if you still felt that way, that's all."

Sakura frowned, not buying his words at all. Still ignoring the uneasy feeling inside of her, she nodded regardless. "Well, I'd already gotten help from Ino, so I'm fine – and if you still have doubts about it then don't, because I'm as healthy as a horse. Yet, this doesn't explain why you're acting so weird; I mean, you've always been an odd cookie, but tonight you're being stranger than usual. Did someone manage to punch the only functioning part of your brain or something?"

Naruto rolled his eyes and went back to the still-open apartment door and clicked it closed, mentally blaming its formerly ajar state on his hastiness earlier. He returned to his living room in time to see Sakura bring the cup of coffee back to the sink and pick up her purse and cell phone.

"Where are you going?"

"I've some business to tend to. You do know I postponed my work to come here early and clean everything for you, right? Anyhow, since you're back, I have to leave now. Actually, if I'd known you were going to return tonight, I wouldn't have bothered, but... " She shrugged and added, "it doesn't matter anyway. Well, I need to run now; if I hurry I might still be able to make it..."

"Wait, you cleaned?"

With a snort at his question, Sakura smacked him half-harshly on the back as she passed him to the door. "Just because I don't fancy it, doesn't mean I won't do it when it's needed."

"Well, I wasn't really being sarcastic ... but never mind, have a safe trip."

"Will do."

Naruto escorted his friend to the door and accepted the goodbye kiss on the cheek she gave him. With a smile that, hopefully, gave her the assurance that he was alright and that his lines of questioning were just his usual oddness, he bid her goodnight. As soon as she was gone, though, he spun around and angrily shouted:

"SA-SU-KE! What the fuck did you do to her?!"

In an instant, evil laughter filled the entirety of the spacious flat, but Naruto refused to allow the incendiary chuckles to lead him astray. The source of his distress and the reason for his sudden bailing of his teammate in the midst of snow blizzards floated in with a smug face and a daring smirk, before his deviously shining eyes locked onto his angry ones.

"I see you didn't like my little surprise."

"What did you do to her?"

He acted assertive and curt in an attempt to show the teen that he wasn't in the same twisted boat as the other when it came down to a game involving the pain or manipulation of one of his friends. Instead of laughing and having the time of his life, he was determined to show the other that this was a red line he shouldn't be attempting to cross. However, judging from the way he was being smirked down upon, that little fact went right under the beautiful ghost's radar.

"I did what I saw fit... and by the way, you still need to hold up your end of the deal for me to release my hold on her."

Naruto clenched his hands and glared harshly up at the specter. "Why are you doing this? She has nothing to do with us! You can't just drag an innocent person into this for your precious revenge!"

"Oh, but I can and I did. There's a little thing you're also missing here, oh true friend; what I'm doing right now isn't revenge and it's not even close. I'm merely having a little fun here and, as I stated earlier on the phone, I'm just teaching your little, ignorant friend a lesson about ethereal respect. If I planned on taking revenge on you, you wouldn't even be standing here unhurt, let alone be chatting with me, so for your own good don't mix those two concepts up again."

"This is a very bad way to have fun, you know."

"The only person you can blame is yourself. After all, who told you to go to a faraway place and ask your oblivious friend to tend to my flat? It's my home, so I don't need some random woman to sniff her way inside; basically, all you can do here is blame yourself, examine your faults and wallow in guilt. Everything that will happen to her from now on depends on you alone – I'll be the puppeteer having fun in the shadows, and you're the hero who should free the princess before she goes and dies – so good luck in trying to get her out of my hex."

Having said what he wished to say, the ghost began to disappear, but Naruto wouldn't stand for that. So, disregarding the possibility of death and using the only weapon he had right now, he forbade the other from moving completely.

"Sasuke, stop!"

The ghost scowled at his own pathetic body; he knew he shouldn't have allowed this mere human to hold him under such a great power, but in the heat of a silly moment he'd blurted out his most prized possession. If he could go back to that time, he would've damned what little human emotion he still had and withheld his name, but it was too late for that. In any case, by the looks of things, the idiotic blond had finally figured out how to exploit his sole weakness.

"What?"

"What do you mean, your hex?"

"...I'm not obligated to answer."

"Well, then I won't allow you to leave until you at least tell me that much!"

Knowing that Naruto would go through with that silly threat and thinking that he didn't want to spend the rest of his night staring at the pile of stupidity in front of him; Sasuke answered his question with a bored tone. "When I say she's hexed by me, it means that she's sired to me. Whatever I want her to do, she does. If I say move, she moves; if I say jump, she jumps; oh, and if I say die..." He took a moment to smile wickedly and enjoy the horrified look sliding into Naruto's eyes before he malevolently hissed. "She dies."

Trying to look at things from Sasuke's perspective, and ignoring the way his muscles tensed up at the mentioning of death and Sakura in one sentence, Naruto reasoned in an understanding –and hopefully grownup- way. "That's how you got her to overlook what had happened. You simply told her to forget..."

"...Not quite. All I told her was to rewrite her memories, which she did. See, if I simply forced her to forget, I'd have to speak another order for her to fill in the obvious gaps her memory would have, and I didn't wish to utter more words to that stinking woman. So overwriting ensured that her own gaps were filled with something that didn't occur but still felt close to the truth to her."

"But... Sakura's fine, right? She's alright and healthy... right?"

"Her current state of wellbeing depends on you. Right now, she's inside her car, driving to wherever she wants to go to, but I could simply just suggest –not even order her, mind you – to increase her speed and pay no attention to the cars coming in the opposite direction, and..."

Naruto's eyes widened at the scene that played inside his head and he began panicking. "No, wait, don't do it! I already said I'll go meet up with Hinata, so don't do anything that would endanger Sakura's life or put her in harm's way!"

As Sasuke's smirk slowly turned passive, he floated gracefully towards Naruto and brought his face extremely close to the blond's, before he spat out in an annoyed tone: "You're going through a hell of a lot for that friend of yours; you're even withstanding my twisted idea of fun and preparing to have your heart scarred anew. It really makes one wonder if she's really just a normal friend to you."

When pure, strong-willed eyes turned towards him, Sasuke was bowled over by the other's fierce determination. Cowed by the other's silent display, he slowly moved backward, allowing the blond his initially-private and highly personal bubble for the time being.

"Sakura's my best friend and she's been there for me through thick and thin. If it's my turn to be there for her then I'd do anything for her, even be manipulated by you or getting my wounds reopened; it doesn't matter to me, because her life is worth more – and more than that – to me."

"Hn. Maybe I shouldn't have made that deal in the first place... Maybe I should just kill her and have you experience true loss. It would be more fun since I'd finally know how much she me–"

"It's not just her," Naruto interrupted before another evil idea formed in the devious, scheming whorls his ghost referred to as his brain. "I'd go to that length for any of my friends!"

"Then I'll curse all of your worthless friends and lead them to their death, how about that? It's not that hard actually – if a sired one touches a normal human, I'd be able to connect with the human, hence the unfortunate human would also be under my hex. I can make her touch all of your precious friends and then have them commit mass suicide together. Now, doesn't that sound just grand?"

Even with the hideous picture he was painting with his words, the blond's eyes refused to waver or cease in their pure tinge, which caused Sasuke to experience a sudden feeling of defeat.

"Even then, I'd still have someone who you won't be able to touch."

This got the attention of the floating teen and, in an unconscious gesture of confusion, he quirked an imperceptible brow up. Who could he not touch with that ethereal power of his? Obviously it could be no one, since the idiot was only bluffing by using that silly move as a last resort. If he thought that he could have him accommodate yet another feeling of loss then he was wrong, because that would never happen – in this 'lifetime', at least. So, with that belief in mind, Sasuke continued trying to break Naruto.

"You insolent human, you still have no clue about what I can and cannot do. Just because I've been playing house with you for a while, you think you have the whole of me figured out? Well, you'd better think again. I'm far too complicated for that insignificant brain of yours to try and crack, and this incident should remind you of who you are, who I am and where you stand in the grand scheme of things."

"I don't proclaim that I've had you figured out, but I do know that you're not as bad as you try to make yourself appear right now. You have a foul mouth and yet you're polite and have some sort of respect for manners, and you hate loud noises and appreciate quietness. You also dislike it when anyone insults you – or ghosts in general – and deny your existence, and that's why you're currently angry at Sakura. I admit, I deserve the treatment you're giving me – after all, it's my fault she came here, my fault that she'd insulted you in your own home, and it's my fault I didn't listen the first time you tried to warn me – so you can do whatever you want to do with me. All that I ask of you is that you don't let her shoulder a stupid fault that's only mine to take."

"Begging, are we?" The icy void of Sasuke's eyes faced Naruto, before he continued harshly. "Ah, but that won't do you any good; besides, that pitiful explanation you've concocted is far from the truth. I resent both her and you – her petty behavior has nothing to do with it – and, simply put, I'm punishing her for trespassing and you for allowing her to trespass, especially when you know perfectly well that I won't appreciate that at all. Now, you should just recognize the difference in power between us and be broken down by me this instant!"

Naruto couldn't stop himself from releasing a sound laugh at this, and when he diagnosed the confusion that the ghost felt from the sudden change of emotions, he explained the reason behind his amusement. "Sorry, but it's just... you're trying to break me by doing all of this, right? It's a bit funny because, you see... I'm already broken. Your job is already cut out for you, so you don't even need to bother about it. I've been broken for a while now, and I assure you, killing all of my friends will only act as the trigger to kill myself with them, so you won't achieve anything and you'd have just killed people in vain. I won't suffer more by it, since the minute you kill off Sakura, I'll be following her into the afterlife. Of course, if you remember what I said the first time we met, you'll remember that I'll turn into a ghost and haunt you, and thereby make your afterlife filled with nothing but disaster."

"Heh, should we test that one out then? I have nothing to lose, while you seem to have a lot..."

"If you're alright with having me nag at your back for all eternity, feel free to finish her off." Naruto challenged with eyes filled with intensity and courage... as well as a smidgen of fear.

"For someone who sounds so brave, your hands seem to be shaking quite briskly."

"Well, it's only natural since I'm scared as hell! I don't want to die just yet, and I don't want Sakura to die, too. Seriously, why do you think I rushed back here in an hour to achieve the impossible? It's because I didn't want anyone to die, and..."

"And you didn't want to hold the responsibility of guilt, correct?"

The blond shook his head, before continuing. "No, I didn't want you to hold the responsibility of guilt. I don't want the blood of other people to stain your hands, and even though I know I'm selfishly thinking that I can actually make a difference, I sure as hell want to try."

Once again, Sasuke was taken aback by the other's fervent purity. He didn't know why the tips of his fingers began itching, or why a faraway image started playing at the back of his mind, but it was highly uncomfortable for him. The woman in his ghostly mind was smiling happily while holding a bouquet of flowers with a card holding his name, and though he didn't know why the purity Naruto was emitting right now drove that exact memory into being, it somehow did. His mind began to throb sharply in pain, because the emotions from that image were just too vivid, too close, too overwhelming and were just too...

Too caring.

When was the last time someone genuinely cared for him? Never. It never happened, because it just wasn't possible, and no one ever felt for the dead guy, the forgotten one, the ghost. No one ever gave the loser a second thought, and he'd sworn to never be the loser ever again. The world was the same cruel place he closed his bloody eyes to that fateful night, and Sasuke knew that the guy before him was just spouting gilded words to affect him to the point that he'd release his hold on the girl that meant the world to him. It wasn't because he was caring for him, it was because he was looking after himself and his own interests; after all, nothing really matter other than one's own self in this dreadfully selfish world... and really, why would this human be any different?

At the sudden change in the room's atmosphere, Naruto's senses sharpened as he adjusted to the darkness.

"You know," A gloomy tone started off, catching the blond boxer by surprise. "I salute you; you almost had me there for a second, saying shit about how all of this was actually for me. A perfect strategy, I must say – it was clever of you to think of turning the tables on me. But sadly for you, I've dealt with better players and the game you just played is an old and oft-used one that I don't ever fall for anymore."

"What are you saying? Attempt? Strategy?" Naruto shook his head in denial at all of these accusations. "I really meant what I said! Even now, when I told you there would be a person whom you will never be able to touch or harm, I'd meant that, and the person is you! I'll also go the extra mile for you because you're my friend, my partner and my roommate! We've been living together for two months now! Do you really think I was just cooking up strategies every day to defeat you?! And why the hell would I want to defeat you? You're not my enemy! If there had ever been a goal I had hoped for or worked towards, it would've been that you'd open up your heart to me one day and share with me, to tell me why you always look so hurt and tired. It would've never been to defeat you, because that's... that's just too sad, Sasuke."

At these words, Sasuke felt his hand fade from the golden-blue hue he'd always emitted and his eyes widen when it was replaced with crimson red. He shook it quickly in an attempt to remove it, and showed his back to the blond as he dealt with the situation at hand. This was dangerous; those emotions being thrown at him by the other were true and too much for him to handle! It was his first time dealing with something like this, and he had no idea how to react. His body was leading him astray and surrendering all too willingly to the other's sugar-coated words, and the way that it was melding into the new colors Naruto was forcing him show... this was not good.

Before Naruto could ask what had happened or why the dark aura has faded into warmness, the raven uttered some words and vanished, leaving Naruto to fill in the blanks for himself.

"Our initial deal still stands. Face that Hinata girl... or Pinkie dies."

||XxXx||

Naruto held the phone an arm's length away from his sensitive eardrums and sighed. Bracing himself once more, he scoffed at the continuous noise coming from the other end of the line and only returned it to his ear when the noise subsided to a normal tone. With a calm tone, he attempted to reason with his furious teammate.

"Kiba, I'm sorry, but it's impossible to return right now... I know I'm letting you guys down but there's something really important for me to do here and seriously, I can't just ignore it and rush back... Sorry... Um, c-can you tell the Shika-chan for me? Kiba..."

The blond exhaled when his words were obviously ignored by Kiba's loud shouts over the phone. He was tempted to violently hang up on the domineering male and ignore the fact that he needed to explain himself before the team he was ditching when the shouts stopped and Kiba's sharply irritating tone was replaced by a quieter and slightly huskier one. A smile soon brightened his features when Gaara's faint 'what's wrong?' echoed over the phone.

"Gaara! Thank God! Look, nothing's wrong; I just need to take care of a little problem here... no, you don't need to worry about it. Just tell Shika-chan that I'm sorry and that I probably won't be able to attend today or tomorrow's matches. Hmm... I told you, I'm fine. You know if it's serious I'd have already asked for your help... nope, I'm not disclosing anything about my situation, Gaara, so would you stop being a worrywart? Seriously, I'm alright! I just have a business to care for –yes, yes, it's very important business... okay, thanks, I'll see you later... and you better win those matches for me!"

With that, he returned the phone to its rightful place and slumped over his couch. He was sleepy and his body was crying out for rest, but he couldn't sleep just yet. He had a task at hand that he needed to accomplish and until he did, he couldn't get any shuteye. Inching his tired body off the sofa, Naruto lethargically made his way towards the bathroom because; simply put... he needed to shower. Take a soothing shower and for a second, ignore –because he wasn't given the privilege to forget– his overwhelming responsibilities.

Last night... man, that'd been one hell of a night! He hadn't slept a single minute; all he did was stay up thinking, turning and tossing in the confines of his bed. His heart was in chaos and his brain was just worried sick about Sakura, and even though a part of him knew that Sasuke wouldn't break the promise he'd made with him, another part of him wasn't so sure about that. The lonely, dark look that was given to him the last time their eyes met told him that he really knew nothing about the other, and whatever he thought he'd cracked wasn't really cracked at all. Sasuke was still inside his protective shell and Naruto could only pretend to see the outside of it... that is, if he saw it at all.

He discarded his clothes and adjusted the water to the right temperature. Sitting on the side of the porcelain tub, he pulled out a brush and started rubbing his aching muscles with the lathered-up item. All he took was a quick shower, before he plugged the tub and waited for the warm water to fill it up. As he played silently with the bright yellow pack of ducks that Sakura had purchased as a gift for him, Naruto felt his mouth quirk up into a tiny smile.

Sakura... she was his best friend, and a true one at that. She was with him at his darkest hours, and she knew particularly every tiny detail about him. Sure at times, he hated her for being meddlesome, close-minded or ignorant about his profession, but at the end of the day he'd never wish for her to get out of his life. Even though he had Gaara's understanding nature, having Sakura was just a part of him now – she was like the sister he's never had – and he wasn't about to let her commit suicide from her cursed state. Just because the ghost he'd decided to keep wanted a chance at having some human-killing fun, it didn't mean that he'd allow her to be used so callously.

Seeing the tub filled with an appropriate level of water, Naruto made his way inside, trying to relax into the warm waters hugging his body rather than falter at the cold air that clung stubbornly to his body the minute he removed his bathing robes. However, before he could surrender to sweet, lukewarm heaven in his porcelain tub, a golden hue began appearing, and in mere moments he was staring right into dull, hollow eyes. At this, the blond sighed and disappeared under the water.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and dove under, following the other's lead. "If you think killing yourself will help your friend, then by all means, be my guest; at least you saved me the trouble of doing it myself."

At the ghost's comment, the blond raised his face out of the water and, wiping the water off his face, he exasperatedly retorted. "Why do you always think that I'll try to weasel my way out of our little agreement by dying?"

"Because you humans are always too cowardly to own up to your words, and death is always the easy way out."

"Well, I'm not too sure what type of humans you've been interacting with when alive and after death, but I assure you, there are still some of us who appreciate dignity, honesty... and privacy." He added, reminding the floating teen that this was his reserved time and stressing his lack of appreciation for the intrusion.

"Hmph. Don't go flattering yourself just yet; I came here on business."

"Business?"

"Yes. Here."

A small piece of crumbled paper found its way to the wetness of his right hand. Naruto blinked at the number scribbled on it and immediately recognized Sakura's handwriting.

"What's this?"

"I figured you'd want to call this Hinata person before you talked to her... so there's her number."

"Y-Yeah..." Shaking his head at the sudden lump forming in his throat, Naruto asked: "How did you get it?"

"My sired subject left it on the fridge the day she came to inform you of this woman's request. I simply took the eyesore and kept it."

"O-oh."

"Anyhow, I'm anticipating an interesting performance. Beware of making me bored."

Again, that cold stare was making him express further doubt about the dregs of humanity he saw inside the teen every now and then. Having nothing else to say –since his heart was too busy wallowing about what he should or shouldn't do– Naruto allowed the ghost to float out of the bathroom to wherever he was going to, and a sigh that he wasn't aware he was holding broke free from his lips.

His azure orbs darted towards the piece of semi-wet paper now placed on the washing machine to dry, and the relaxing heaven he wanted to reach turned into boiling hell as his body's temperature refused to go down and his heart twisted into labyrinths of bedlam.

Naruto just released a faint curse to express the frustration he truly felt and ducked his head under the water in an attempt to get some sort of relief.

||XxXx||

"I'm not sure what you're trying to pull here, but I'm not a liar. When I say I'll make my way to her, that means I will. I won't run away, especially when Sakura's life is at stake."

"Hmph, I have no reason whatsoever to believe in the words of a human; besides, how would I have fun if I wasn't present to watch?"

Naruto heaved his umpteenth sigh for the day and fixed the tie on his shirt. He frowned again when the reflection of the male haunting his apartment stared amusedly back at his troubled eyes, and the blond returned his sight to the road. He wasn't going to cause a crash with the car he'd begged Gaara for over the phone, and he wanted to get to the hotel Hinata has said she was in without visiting the afterlife first.

Looking back at his situation three hours ago, when he picked up the phone and dialed the number on the crumpled paper, he didn't know how he'd maintained a cool head and was unfazed, even when the sound of his one and only love resonated back from the other side. He didn't know why he didn't feel the hatred he thought would come seeping to his soul the moment he heard her voice but for some reason that was alien to him, he'd somehow held a decent conversation with her – a conversation that he'd been dreading for years.

They'd started off with simple greetings, with him politely asking about her wellbeing and her reciprocating his airy queries. It had been after this exchange of pleasantries that Naruto proceeded to ask about her accommodations, and he could detect the faint whimper that escaped her mouth when she replied, reminding him of the old stutter that she had when they first met. Yes, those nostalgic memories gushed from the wound in his heart at the sound of her voice... but he continued with his detached façade. He refused to allow her to see the amount of damage she'd inflicted on him, or how he was struggling not to shiver or shake at the overwhelming emotions attempting to burst out from under his skin.

Somehow he pulled it off, keeping his calm long enough to agree on a date where they'd meet and pull their hellish conversation off. Afterwards, he headed straight for the bathroom and for the next hour he'd emptied his stomach contents – along with his roiling emotions – into the toilet. Naruto was just glad he was respected enough to be left alone, and wasn't embarrassed by having anyone see him in such a weak state, where his own muscles refused to comply with his simple mental orders to stop shivering.

Closing his eyes and shaking his head, the blond parked the car in the huge, fancy parking lot under the five-star hotel Hinata was staying at and once again, he had to remind himself of the wealth Hyuuga Hinata's mere name stood for. Just as he'd thought, he felt extremely out of place. Naruto made his way towards the inside of the hotel and sure enough, the hotel personnel came bowing to him the minute he entered, asking if there was anything he'd like their help with and at this, another memory forced its way to the forefront of his mind.

It was the first time Hinata had asked him to meet at a hotel for one of their dates, and happy to be invited by her for a change, he'd chosen to show with his normal attire – a hoodie and black jeans – as he'd thought nothing of it at the time. That proved to be the wrong move to make; for the second he was seen by the guards on either side of the glassy doors, he was firmly escorted out, under the impression that he was nothing more than a worthless troublemaker trying to make a racket inside the fancy hotel. No matter how much he tried to explain to them that that wasn't the case, and he was supposed to meet his girlfriend inside, no-one listened to him and he'd been forced to head back home in defeat.

He'd never felt so humiliated before in his life, and to make matters worse the difference between their statuses was firmly rubbed in his face and was forever engraved in his memory. For the first time in his life, he knew that his clothes would determine who he was and that the rich didn't care about his personality or identity – or anything human at all, for that matter – and that all they cared about was the inside of his pocket and what he chose to wear.

As Naruto stayed immersed in his thoughts, Sasuke glanced furtively at the hesitant steps the forced human was making, and a fleeting thought about him taking his fun too far flashed momentarily inside his head. However, in less than a second, he dismissed the human emotions in him and called the blond to strengthen up.

"I don't believe it's wise to show how rattled you are when your noisy friend's head is at stake..."

Naruto directed a glare up at the ethereal being. He couldn't snarl an insult to that ghost hovering over his head without being considered crazy in the place he was right now, so he released through clenched teeth, in a way that no one would notice. "I know what I need to do. You can just keep quiet and observe."

"Hn."

Asking the neatly dressed woman at the reception for the location of the French restaurant, the blond crossed towards there with hesitation racing through his apprehensive form. It was eight o'clock in the evening, the exact time he'd arranged to meet up with her at, and his heart started pounding harder with every step that brought him closer to her.

Surely enough, with a few correct turns, he came face to face with the extravagant restaurant. Naruto nodded to the waiter who had opened the door for him and silently acknowledged to the welcoming tone that asked if he had a reservation or needed a table. The blond recited the number of his reservation as his eyes lost themselves in awe at the exquisite decoration. It was a profligate place, with stylish people and some expensive food that he couldn't even pronounce, and he was sure that a new world was being opened up to him. Before he was able to awaken from his semi-enchanted phase, his eyes caught the glimpse of his old Hyuuga Hinata; his first true love, his first heartbreak, and his first real experience at anything so sweet and cruel that it'd ripped his soul out.

At that precise moment, everything around him lost all sense of importance.

Naruto felt his eyes trace Hinata's petite silhouette, as her form was hidden away from his sight by the table she'd chosen as their meeting ground, and the time differences they spent apart shone bright in the forefront of his mind. As he got closer to see her figure, he could identify the silky, black hair – which was longer than he'd recalled it to be – that loosely cascaded over her back and onto either side of her shoulder blades, and watched as a few locks swept gently forwards when she cast her charming, lavender-colored eyes downward to trace the lines of her potential order on the menu she elegantly held in one slender hand. Her skin tone was a little bit darker under the golden-yellow light the restaurant chose for relaxing their diners, and Naruto bit his lips at the small differences that were snidely being rubbed on his face to see.

He forced his eyes to flicker down and, swallowing the lump in his throat and clenching his hands, he made his way towards the lady clad in her graceful and chic rosso crosa red dress sitting a few tables to his right. He suppressed the pain in his chest that flared up with old memories of her gorgeous features back down and with a charming smile; he called out her name and watched as her calm eyes momentarily wavered from the rollercoaster of emotions that assaulted her being. However, before he could suppress the malicious thoughts that suddenly controlled him, the little demon in him rejoiced at the startled, guilty look that her eyes have finally settled into so, with the same charming smile spreading over his countenance, he said with delight:

"Hello, Hinata-chan, it's been a while."

And for the upcoming two hours, Naruto found himself turning into another human being; he was now a liar whose soul had chosen to leave his body until his spurting fit of lies came to an end. This ridiculous display of hidden emotions was overseen by a ghost, who floated away in the midst of the deceitfulness towards a place where he didn't feel such toxicity emitting and harming his own fragile form.

||XxXx||

Naruto stepped out of the brand-new Lamborghini he was driving and closed the sand-colored door shut behind him. His eyes looked distantly at the mirage of lights before him and, feeling extremely drained, he loosened the tie strangling him and sat gently on the green –and somewhat wet – grass under him. Naruto felt a cold chill pass him by as the hill he chose to run to protected him from the noise of the city beneath, and he was allowed a minute to admire the breath-taking scenery he was beholding before a single word jolted him from his semi-blissful state.

"Liar."

He didn't need to raise his eyes up to know who released that soft, accusing whisper. With a tired sigh, he retorted to his judging ghost. "Anything wrong with lying?"

"You said you don't lie, but you did, which means you lied when you told me that. You're a liar."

"You wanted me to go against the person who turned my life upside down, and the only way I could cope was if I lied. Sasuke, if I didn't..." and slowly, Naruto directed sad eyes to the fading male, before he allowed a wistful smile on his face. "...I'd break."

Sasuke ignored the obviously pained look on the other's face and the way his tips were tingling at the weakness he was allowed to see, and hissed maliciously. "You're pathetic."

"...That I am."

"You allowed a mere woman to shake you up."

"Guilty as charged."

"She doesn't know that she shook your world. She's leading a life free from any guilt or pain and you're lying to allow her to continue like that?"

Naruto kept quiet and raised the bottle of beer to his tired lips. He sipped gently at it as the ghost changed his angle and approached him from the front.

"Why? I... I don't understand you. She broke you and converted you to this weakling who can't even face his problems properly, so why aren't you blaming her? Why aren't you getting angry with her? Why didn't you release all your frustration onto her? Why are you shouldering everything on her behalf?"

Naruto remained silent for a while, and Sasuke just floated beside him and waited patiently for the questions he'd asked to be answered. After a while, when a cold wave washed over them and it didn't seem like the human he was haunting was about to tell him anything, the handsome ghost whispered softly.

"Are you still in love with her?"

"Hmm...I wonder."

"You do know I still have your other friend sired to me, right? In a heartbeat I can have her kill–"

"Here's something I just don't get," Naruto interrupted the familiar line of threats Sasuke had grown accustomed to lately, and faced the startled male dead on. "Why are you so hung up on this? From what you've said before, you don't give a shit about me, and want nothing more than me leaving your apartment and let you in peace... But here you are, prying and asking questions that will only lead to you knowing me better, and when that happens we'll grow closer, which is something you don't want. I've tried to figure you out for a while now, but I can't seem to get anywhere; you're giving me mixed signals and I've had enough. So tell me, which one is it –do you want to get close or move away from me? If the latter is what you truly wish for, then this is a very odd way to tell me that."

Startled by the suddenness of the boxer's powerful words and the close proximity between them, Sasuke swiftly vanished from Naruto's eyes and reappeared above the beautiful scenery they were witnessing. With uncertain emotions running through his own brittle being, he glared down at the human.

"I can do whatever I want; you have no right to question me!"

"Well, Sasuke, news flash to you but yes I do. When you're sticking your nose into my business and rebuff me when I do the same, I think I have a damn right to ask why you're doing it. I'm sick and tired of all of your games already and trying to read past your every devious step. So right now, just tell me... what do you really want from me? Do you want us to get along or what?"

"Just because I showed a slight interest in you doesn't mean I want to know the world about you. The only thing I would want from you is for you to disappear. The moment you came into my apartment, you ruined everything, and the moment you disappear is the moment I'll finally have peace."

Naruto frowned at the barrage of words being thrown at him and with confusion evident in his tone, he tried to break through the hazy cloud. "Just tell me how I ruined everything for you."

"You're the big shot – you figure it out."

"I don't know about being a big shot or anything, but honestly, I've no idea about anything when it comes to you. If you're expecting me to think of ways that I've ruined everything for you, then I can't because as far as I can tell, I did nothing of the sort."

"Oh yes you did!"

"Then tell me! What did I do to you?!"

"You... you... you were there! Just there! In the place that no one other than me should have been present! You ruined everything by forcing me to be with you, forcing me to trust you, forcing me to give you my name and thus be forced to listen to your every word, and you did it all the moment you stepped into that apartment for the second time! Why...!"

"Sasuke," Naruto eased, trying to form a solid idea about what was going on around him. "I didn't force you into anything. It's true that I wanted you to remain in the apartment, but that's only because you seemed to love it so much. I couldn't deprive you of something that precious to you simply because you ceased existing... but the other things, those were all you; you wanted to let me know, and you wanted someone to be there."

"No, I didn't want to! You forced me! With that inhuman kindness of yours and that idiotic behavior, being careless and lowering your guard around me, showing me that you trust me and believe that I won't do anything to you; you basically forced me to expose myself to you! It was all your fault that I'm beginning to fall, beginning to hurt, beginning to... to remember."

The blond watched as the radiant gold that was always accompanying his ghost faded into a sorrowful gray that highlighted the darkness of the night and the navy blue that was already floating around Sasuke. A sudden gush of unidentified emotions washed over his tired limbs and he found himself trying to reach the other with his words.

"...Sasuke, I never meant for you to remember anything painful and if my behavior caused you any agony or discomfort then I'm sorry, but it wasn't my intention. I won't lie and tell you that I don't want to get closer to you, because I do... but I wouldn't want you to recall something painful because of me."

"Do you think a simple apology can cut it?"

"No, I don't, but you have to know that I'm only sorry for the bad things and for the pain you're experiencing. What I'm not sorry for is having my emotions get through to you. I'm not sorry for your eventual connection to the human in you, and I'm not sorry that you want to get clos –"

"SHUT UP!"

Naruto's brows furrowed at the sudden shout and the ensuing explosion of emotions that engulfed the other. He held up both his hands in a futile attempt to protect himself when a blasting wind threw his body backwards and, with a few centimeters to spare, he missed the edge of the rock on the mountain freeway that he'd parked his car on. Groaning from the sudden pain that shot through his senses upon impact, Naruto slowly opened his eyes and, in horrified disbelief, he looked at the handsome male as the transparent skin grew darker, the entrancingly dark eyes were flooded by a deep crimson red, and the gray aura had completely swamped the usual blue and gold that constantly surrounded Sasuke.

Still lost in the state of misperception, Naruto stumbled his way back onto his two feet before he tried approaching the obviously agonized teen.

"Sasuke... can you hear me? Please calm down." He beseeched with a calm tone, hoping to reach Sasuke before he truly went berserk and caused the whole of Konoha Mountain to explode on them.

"No! Stay back! Don't you dare come any closer!"

Naruto wanted to point out that he couldn't get closer even if he wanted to, thanks to the presence of the cliff and his current revulsion towards killing himself. Somehow, though, with what was going on, that sentence didn't prove to be the right thing to blurt out at the moment, and so he resorted to another train of thought.

"Sasuke, please listen to me. Right now you're suffering, and as you said it's all because of me... but it's killing me to see you like this. So please try to regain your conscience and control yourself before anything bad happens!"

However, the only answer he got was a hard shove towards the car he'd gotten from his old friend. This time, Naruto protected his hands, but he winced as the glass shuddered at the loud thud his body made and attempted to ignore the way some of his ribs complained at the rough shove. He knew better than to aim for the worked-up ghost after that vicious fight they had the first time, but the idiot in him chose to forget all that and go up against Sasuke with no sutras or sacred water to protect him.

At his own mental reminder, Naruto's eyes widened in sudden realization. He could use the sutras he'd learnt to restrain Sasuke's movements... but if he did that, the raven would lose all of his powers for three whole months. He wouldn't even be able to lift a tiny transparent finger, let alone float anywhere. Hence, if he recited the sutras out here, Sasuke would remain trapped out in the open hill for three whole months. Naruto sighed at the thought. Sasuke wouldn't like that very much and, even if he disregarded the ghost's wishes, his emotions were forbidding him; after all, he wanted to restrain Sasuke's powers, not doom him to a fate of powerlessness and weakness for three consecutive months.

Deciding that standing and walking towards the other whilst thinking of a way was better than wincing at the shattered glass of Gaara's Lamborghini –which was a whole other problem he threw to the back of his mind– Naruto began contemplating the ambiguity of a solution to this mess. He could force Sasuke to abide by the rules he'd forced him to comply with, but that wouldn't return the ethereal being to his good nature, it would just ensure that he wouldn't attack Naruto physically again; therefore, that idea was a no go. Biting his lips hesitantly, Naruto approached the ghost who'd –in the fits of emotions running through him– recently turned into an evil spirit.

"Sasuke! Listen to me: you need to wake up from this! You need to come back! Get to your senses and return to the real world! Please, wake up! I... I can't lose you here!"

He was right. Through these past few months they had been living together, those tenuous emotions Gaara had warned him from developing had developed without him noticing. Unfortunately, his perspective of the other had somehow switched from a charity-case he wanted to help move on to heaven, to a dear friend that he wanted to get closer to and know more about.

That was when it hit him, like a sudden unexpected storm; he now knew the answer to pulling Sasuke out of his chaotic emotional whirlwind. He clenched his hands as he hoped for success and, with a tinge of happiness that complimented his triumphant discovery of the ghost's potential cure, he opened his mouth and reasoned:

"Sasuke listen... earlier, you said you wanted to know why I lied when I was with Hinata, right? Well, I know I've been an ass about the answer... but that's only because it was just too silly for me to say. Actually, Hinata... she did a huge number on me, and she hurt me so deep that I've been having nightmares about it for months after she left me... so if I didn't lie, I wouldn't be able to sit with her on the same table, let alone be able to maintain a smile as she explained why she did what she did or why she left without an explanation the first time around. If I had collapsed right there and then... I wouldn't be myself anymore."

Naruto took a deep breath and watched as his words calmed the grey surrounding Sasuke and lightened its previously murky color. With a small, self-encouraging smile, he continued talking. "If I didn't lie, I wouldn't be able to provide you with the satisfying show you wished for –which, by the way, I had no idea what you were hoping to witness– and thus you wouldn't have released Sakura from your hex. I won't stand here and preach that I did it all for you and for her, since that would be the real lie, so I have to admit that I did it for myself... well, mostly for myself. She was my light and she was my darkness, she wrecked me and brought my heaven to hell and I detested, loathed and hated her so much that I started to gradually lose myself. I'd turned into a pathetic human being who was only good about feeling sorry for himself, and even though I knew she was wrong and I couldn't forgive her for what she did I stayed in this depressive state. Even if she did know my real thoughts about her, there was no good that'd come out of it; the only thing would've been more agony and ache, for both her and me... and Sasuke, I'm tired of all the pain."

"..."

The blond paused for a moment as the weight of the words inside his body lightened with each syllable he enunciated. He felt a small smile try to break with the last few words and, with a tone of finality, allowed it to appear alongside his last few words on the matter.

"I... I didn't want the cycle of hatred in me to continue existing, or for her to see me lose my dignity, so that's why I lied. To the very end, I wanted her to see that what she did didn't shake me up all that bad –that, even after her deep betrayal, I was able to stand up and continue living my life normally- and Sasuke..." His gaze shone with assurance as he locked his calm, blue orbs with Sasuke's scared, red ones, which seemed to shake with the strong stream of emotions seeping through them, and added. "...you know, I also didn't want you to see my uncool side, but you ended up doing just that."

With that, he got close to the edge, causing Sasuke's chaotic brain to warn him that he needed to move away, and move away he did. Golden, somewhat-rough locks shook with Naruto's head movement, and with the same sad smile he'd adopted that awful evening, he explained.

"You don't need to raise your guard, since I'm not trying to reach you. I think... no, I'm sure that you did what you did –your whole deal with Sakura– because you wanted me to experience the same pain you're experiencing, which I did... I know it may not be the same pain as yours, but I did experience a despairing torrent of pain that made death sound like a nice dream in comparison. What I'm trying to say is this... since I related to your pain at some point, I understand why you did this, and I forgive you for it."

After that, Sasuke was forced to witness the chatterbox he roomed with for two whole months put one leg over the rail and then, while still smiling like an idiot, plummet headfirst into the vast valley beneath them. The crimson orbs that were blazing with a rollercoaster of emotions a second ago reverted to their usual hollow black as his horrified form was made to observe the blond sever all attachments to life and plunge to his inevitable death. Quickly, Sasuke forced his muscles to move and, pulling what was left of his exhausted strength, he formed a cushiony cloud of dim sapphire crystals and directed them to the falling blond. He hurriedly maneuvered the cloud to Naruto's side and was successful in rescuing the blue-eyed boxer before his head collided with the jagged rocks beneath.

Floating safely up to the hill, Sasuke softly returned Naruto to the inside of the crushed car and, with a confusion that was heavily laced with anger, he let his frustrations out in a burst of words.

"What the fuck were you thinking?!"

The blond chuckled faintly as one of his hands weakly flopped over the right side of his chest and feebly attempted to hold the scream-inducing pain at bay. "...I... you said I ruined everything and that you wanted me to disappear. I thought if I went and disappeared, everything would clear up for you, and you'd return to normal... Well, I guess I was right."

Sasuke's confusion turned to heated anger in a split second and he glared, attempting to hold in the feeling of wanting to shove a rock inside that stupid mouth and silence the idiotic words streaming out.

"You're really a moron and sadly, you never cease to remind me of that."

"Hehehe... I'm just glad you're back to normal."

"What would have happened if I didn't, huh? What would you do if you died? Were you prepared to throw that dream that you begged your life for away, just for some harebrained cause?!"

"Hey, you have a lousy memory. Did you forget that I told you I don't mind losing my life for you? You're not just a roommate to me anymore, or a vengeful spirit that my bad luck had shackled me with... you're my friend. You're already a very close friend to me, so getting you back was even more important than my life."

Naruto raised his hand to cup the invisible cheek but sadly, before his hand could reach Sasuke's transparent skin; it fell as his internal bleeding intensified from the movement. In a state of self-preservation his body shut down any unnecessary system that was still on and thus, with a silent exhalation, he abandoned himself to sweet unconsciousness.

For about one minute, Sasuke floated aimlessly above, staring at the unconscious blond and at the hand that didn't quite continue its journey towards his face. As if he was lost to a trance, he stared in wonder at the shiny clear crystals pattering down from his tired eyes and watched as they made their way to his rosy cheeks, descended to his parted lips and finally ended their trip by dripping gently onto Naruto's fainted form. At that moment in time, in the aftermath of all that chaos, only one question drifted to the forefront of his frenzied brain.

...When was the last time he'd cried?

||XxXx||

With burning sides and an agonizing pain that lanced through his systems the second he tried his luck out of bed, Naruto edgily limped towards the outside of his room with a slowness that could almost be mistaken as laziness. The apartment was dead silent, and he blinked as he tried to recall what had happened to him in the past few days; unfortunately, his memory came back blank. The last thing he remembered was the angry look that resided on Sasuke's face as he tried to wipe it off... then nothing else came to mind. He didn't remember how he got home, or how his wounds were healed – if they were healed to begin with– or why he felt as if he'd spent an eternity sleeping.

At last, one of his questions was answered by a cool voice that came from his left. "You'll feel some pain due to the aftereffects, but you're alright."

Naruto was jolted out of his own worries at the casual tone and, with a smile; he faced the floating male before he muttered. "...Hi."

The reaction he got from his simplistic greeting had him quirk a brow up at the ghost, but before he was able to question the faint pink hue that flushed over the other's semi-transparent cheeks, Sasuke's mouth blurted out.

"Breakfast should be done in five minutes; in the meantime you should wash up. I already prepared you a clean change of clothes in the bathroom, so hurry up already."

Yet again, before Naruto was allowed to reply, Sasuke vanished in a dazzling burst of golden dust and he heard the sound of the sizzling frying pan, indicating the current location the ghost had disappeared to. Sighing at the lack of an explanation, Naruto limped over to the bathroom as fast as the pain in his muscles would allow him and once inside, he tried to give himself a swift shower. Sadly, the soreness he was feeling caused his swiftness to be akin to that of a turtle's.

In the midst of a futile fight with the soap –which he'd been attempting to wash his back with – Naruto was taken aback by the face of his teenage roommate as it peered in from its awkward position in the wall. With a reaction of pure shock, he stumbled backwards and nearly fell on his ass in a way that would almost assure him of a concussion.

"Sasuke! I told you a thousand times not to stick your head through walls like that! Sheesh, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"What's there to be frightened of, chicken? Oh wait, don't tell me –you've finally comprehended the fact that I'm a ghost and that you should be scared of me?"

"Just shut up, kid, and get out of here. You seriously have no understanding of privacy."

A thin, black brow was raised at his scathing comment. "Oh. Privacy, you say..."

"Yes, privacy. You know, I would actually like to have a bath without you jumping at me every two seconds."

"Who do you think rescued your stinking ass that time you drowned in your own vomit? Who woke you up when you decided that sleeping in the nude was the best damn idea ever? Who dressed your lumpy body up? Ha, who?! Did that 'privacy' of yours do it? Like fuck it did; it wa–"

Naruto winced at the tone and interrupted before they started having a really weird conversation with 'privacy' as the topic of debate. "Alright, I know you know my naked body–"

"Oh, more than you know."

Whatever Naruto was set on saying after that sentence fled from his brain as his face picked up heat and his blood circulated close to the surface. In a minute, he snapped around with shock clearly shining in his azure orbs and, as a faint blush decorated his cheeks, he warily asked the question that Sasuke's tone had aroused in him.

"Sasuke... just what the hell did you do to my body?"

The floating ghost furrowed his eyebrows in a state of confusion, not quite getting the point of the other's question. However, when his eyes met Naruto's and registered his blushing features, they widened in realization and, without his permission, a beautiful shade of red began wreathing the area around his face.

"Oh. My. Dear. Lord. NO! Who would want to do anything with that worthless lump you call a body?! I'm not that desperate!"

"Worthless lump? Clearly, you lack the right vision, boy! This is an elite boxer's body! Do you know how many hours I spent carving these abs?! My body is anything but lumpy; it's perfect, and you should thank God for the privilege of getting to touch such a rare specimen!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the idiotic jock before him and spat. "Your obsession with that piece of lump you call perfection just proves to me how retarded you are."

"Hey! No cursing your elders!"

"And who could that be?"

"Me, of course!"

The floating male moved closer to Naruto's heated face and, when he knew he had the full attention of the still-bathing blond, he hissed in an icy tone that drained all the warmness of Naruto's bath with it. "I don't believe I've ever said I was younger than you on any occasion; don't go around assuming unnecessary things solely based on my exterior."

Naruto allowed his legs to give up on him and slid into the water-filled porcelain as he gave up on any sort of truth the other male deigned to release from his lying lips. He was just too tired to care anymore.

||XxXx||

"So, how old are you really?"

"Why is age such an important matter to you?"

"Hmm...it's not, but it would give me an indication of what I can and can't say around you."

Sasuke rolled his eyes as one of his fingers directed the plate towards Naruto's side of the table. He floated towards the opposite end of the table and crossed both his arms over his chest; then gazed at the buffalo before him as he attacked the breakfast Sasuke has spent such delicacy making, and grumpily mumbled.

"...It's not like it's going to go anywhere."

Naruto grinned at those words, before he swallowed and happily retorted. "Yeah, but this is the first time you've made me anything, and it tastes like I'm eating a piece of heaven right now~"

"Stop exaggerating. In any case, you should be disgusted; for goodness' sakes, a ghost made your breakfast for you. What if I had put poison inside, huh?"

"Sasuke, I thought we were past the doubting phase already. Besides, if you wanted me dead, you could have killed me that night we were on that cliff; no one would know and you won't have to dirty your lovely apartment. Actually, you didn't even need to do anything and you could have just let me fall; but you didn't... hence..."

The blond left the sentence to trail off and continued consuming the breakfast that has been made for him, before he was interrupted again.

"You're a fool."

"I know. So tell me, what exactly happened to me? I'm pretty sure I had one or three ribs broken, so did you take me to a hospital or something?"

Sasuke shook his head and raised his glowing right palm to the blond, before he added on. "I used my powers to heal you but since you're human, the process is taking longer than it should."

"...What process?"

"The healing process, what else? I basically stimulated your cells to regenerate faster than normal. It's not fast enough to cure you in a single day but if I had to make an educated guess, I'd say the process is about seventy percent complete. By tomorrow, you'll be as healthy as a horse."

"Aha...but I thought you can't touch me. How did you stimulate my cells without touching me?"

"I don't need to directly touch you to stimulate the cell. It's energy – it can be passed without direct contact – and in any case, 'stimulate' isn't the right term here, since what I did was simply give some of my energy to you."

Naruto blanched at this explanation. "...Wait, your energy?"

"Yes."

"Dead people's energy?"

"Would you rather have me leave your ass to die then?"

At the spitting tone, the blond backed off and acquiesced with a nervous smile. "Alright, alright, thank you for helping me. I don't have any more complaints, okay? Anyways, how's Sa–?"

"She's fine." Sasuke cut in before the question could be completed. "Since you stuck to your side of the deal, I released her. Her memories are still overwritten, so alas she won't remember much about the things I made her do while she was sired...Though there's a possibility that she might have some dreams about them."

"If it's just dreams then I don't mind."

"Hn."

After that, as the raven ghost floated away from the table with the presumption that their conversation was over, Naruto allowed him to leave as he went back to his food. Finishing the dishes prepared for him without further delay, he quickly washed them and returned them to their respectful places, before he made his way towards his room and allowed a small smile to blossom on his features. Clearly, he was getting through to Sasuke – he wasn't sure if the reason was the big gamble he made on that cliff that dark night, or whether Sasuke was just tired of hatred and wanted to connect to a person – yet whatever the reason was, he was just glad to know that they were finally seeing things eye to eye.

Still, he had no tangible or intangible clue about what the other was like. He had no real information about him, as he had nothing as simple as his age or as big as the circumstances surrounding his death. He had nothing at all.

Naruto sighed as he walked over to his room to fetch his lost phone; he just hoped that, with time, the beautiful ghost haunting his apartment would allow him to get closer and learn the truth about him. For now, though, he needed to return back to his daily life and matches. As he finally found the small device and checked the date and time on his cell phone, all color drained from his face.

"Sasuke!" He exclaimed in shock, running back to the living room in which the ghost liked to enjoy his free time. "Why the hell didn't you tell me I've been out for a whole freaking week and a half?!"

The floating male merely shrugged and raised a brow at the freaked out blond. "It's simple: you didn't ask."

"Oh my God, Sasuke! I've a very important match today and I didn't prepare at all! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shika-chan will murder me for not attending practice! Holy fuck, I'm screwed!"

"What happened to your rule of not cursing in front of minors?"

"Well, you aren't a minor, now are you?! And Sasuke, I can't believe you did that to me! Didn't anyone call or come by to check up on me?!"

"They did, so I chased them out and disconnected the phone line as well, for good measure. You know I hate trespassers, and besides, there was no need for their intrusion."

"Sasukeeeeee!" Naruto whined, making his way towards his room. "Why would you do that?! Now, even if I said I was sick in bed, no-one would believe me and I'm going to have to live through having my head offered on a platter after my disastrous match! Shit!"

As the ghost watched the human get dressed in record time and put on his sneakers while ignoring the unappreciative protests his muscles sent to his brain, Sasuke found his mouth twitch upward and –for once– he dropped the stoic mask he always had on. He floated towards the front door as Naruto was about to get out of the apartment and quietly reasoned.

"You know, you're overreacting. It's not like it's the end of the world when you miss a single week and a half of training, and besides, you don't need to attend today's match, seeing as you're still healing."

"Sadly, life doesn't work like that. I'd already ditched my team that week, when you wanted me to get here as quickly as possible, and now I've missed another whole week and half of serious practice! If I miss this match, Shika-chan would surely fire my ass from the team –and seriously, do you have any idea how hard I trained my ass off to get on the regulars? Besides, I won't have any income to provide for myself now and...aggghh!" Naruto groaned as he spared a glance at his watch. "We'll continue this later! I need to run! Bye, and don't open the door to strangers!"

With those parting words, Sasuke found himself left alone in the vast apartment. He wanted to clarify that he wasn't a kid who needed to be told what to and not to do, but he was sure that, in the midst of the shouts the other was experiencing, he had a zero chance of making the human who had invaded his darkness listen to him.

Sighing, he heard the front door lock and returned inside, enjoying the quietness that would surely be wrecked the minute Naruto returned home. With an annoyed shake of his head, Sasuke overlooked the sudden warmth that spread inside his translucent existence at that thought, and resolved to relish his peace for as long as it existed.

||XxXx||

Naruto wiped the sweat off of his forehead and continued running. The right side of his muscles hurt like hell, but he couldn't allow the pain to get in the way of his punishment. He was made to do a hundred laps, eighty pushups and undergo two practice matches –one against Gaara, the other against Kiba – to increase the stamina that he'd lost during the week and a half he'd lost from his useless state of rest at home.

As much as he wanted to correct their misconceptions for them, he couldn't change their stubborn minds. Groaning, he dropped at the completion of his last lap and tried to regain whatever was left of his strength.

"Here." A bottle of cold water was thrown at his drained form, before the curt voice continued. "You know better than to miss out on practice for a whole week and a half."

Naruto thanked his best friend and gulped down the cold water, taking a moment to relish the icy feeling inside his parched throat, before he rasped out. "Yes, I do, but Sasuke decided that playing with my life would be fun... so I had to tag along."

"That's a very stupid reason – by the way, before I forget; why did you give my car to Kankuro? I told you to drop it by the house and put the key in the mailbox."

The blond mentally died of shock for the umpteenth time that day as the events of what had happened to Gaara's beloved Lamborghini washed over him like a cold, unpleasant shower of ice shards. "...Umm...c-c-car? Y-You got your car?"

Gaara raised an invisible brow at the stuttering and suspiciously questioned the other. "What's that supposed to mean? Weren't you the one who'd delivered it to my house?"

"Err... well, yeah... you didn't notice anything wrong with it?"

"Should I?"

"...If you didn't, then I guess everything is alright."

"Uzumaki, what was that pause for? And what the hell did you do with my car?!"

Naruto had to calm down the beast above him before he was sent to the hospital, this time for the open scalp that an angry Gaara was very famous for carving on his opponents. "C-Calm down, Gaara, I didn't do anything... but there was a small incident. If you didn't notice then that means Sasuke took care of it, so just forget about it already."

"..."

"C'mon, dude! You know I wouldn't do something serious with it, and I swear to God it was just a small incident!"

The blond boxer relaxed when Gaara lowered his hands and listened as the redhead silently glared at him and muttered warningly. "You know what, that ghost of yours is clearly isn't good news. You should exorcise him already and get all of this over and done with."

"Gaara, I can't do that. We are finally beginning to connect, and I refuse to throw all the progress we've made down the drain."

"See, this is what I don't get; why are you doing this? Why do you want to get closer to him?"

"Umm... right now, I can't really answer that. Even so, I just can't exorcise him..."

"You still remember my advice?"

"Not to get attached?"

"Exactly. Every time you feel the urge to know more about him, just remember that. You can't get attached to dead people, in every known religion that's a very bad news, and you should know that."

Naruto sighed and stood up from the dirty ground, before he dusted himself off. "You don't need to worry about that. Anyways, shouldn't you be sparring with me right now? Come; let's see what you've got!"

"Before that, I think you should go meet the new president who's bought our team."

"Bought our team? We were in the market?"

"Apparently."

"I didn't know."

"Of course you wouldn't. All this time you've been focusing on nothing but the pile of air you call Sasuke!"

Naruto eased, not wanting to enter into a useless fight while he was about to pass out from tiredness. "Gaara... please. Let's just get on with it already..."

The redhead rolled his eyes and nodded as he made his way towards the inside of their training center, while Naruto keenly followed behind. "...Actually, you should go and wash up first, so you can go meet the new boss. He wanted to meet all members of the team, but since you decided to take a whole week and a half off, you weren't able to meet him."

"Wait, before I forget... why was our team sold?"

"Basically, we're good. The previous owner, Mr. Machida, needed to get himself quick cash and some hot shot in the sport and business industry wanted us, so we were sold. Actually, the whole story is unclear as of yet and I don't really give a shit about any of that, so if I'm to continue boxing and I'm able to get money out of it then I'm satisfied. You're the same, right?"

Naruto grunted as he was escorted to the showers. "Well, yeah, but don't tell me there's some silly new rules I'll need to abide by. I'm still trying to live up to the former ones Gai-sensei is already suffocating us with, and I don't need more to add to my grief."

Gaara smirked, remembering just how bad his best friend was with set rules. "Be happy then; so far, he didn't change anything in the club, training lists, programs or tournaments. However, keep on your guard – you never know, he could change his mind at any moment and decide that we aren't good enough for him."

"And who is he, anyway?"

"I told ya, he's a hot shot dude in the sport and business industry; he's pretty much a rich snob."

"I don't really think you should be badmouthing your new employer like that, Gaara-kun."

Naruto blinked at the new, unfamiliar voice that rang through the walls inside the showers and, peeking from behind the suddenly deathly aura his longtime friend was emitting, his eyes widened in surprise and shock as he stuttered.

"H-Hinata?"

The intruding stranger frowned at the nickname, before he chuckled when the name seemed to click inside his brain. "I see you're familiar with my cousin there, Uzumaki Naruto-kun. I'm afraid I'm not her though; the name is Hyuuga Neji, your fifth boxer and the new addition to your team. It's nice to finally make your acquaintance."

Absentmindedly, Naruto grasped the pale roughness of the other's hand that was extended to him, and clarified the new boxer's words. "So you're... Hinata's cousin?"

"Yep~! Call me Neji, and I'll call you Naruto; how's that for you?"

"Don't, Naruto." Gaara's warning tone echoed through the hollow shower room, robbing the blond of his chance at an answer. "If you do that, it'd be like surrendering your soul to the devil."

"How mean, Gaara-kun! I refuse to be called the devil here. I'm merely one of his helpers, since the real devil is none other than your new master~" Neji chirped happily, winking playfully to the still-dumbfounded blond.

"...Our new master?"

"Yep! Anyhow, I need to get ready for tonight, seeing as how I'll be taking over that match that you were supposed to have, but oh well. Work is work, and we can't all act hooky like someone here by ditching the source of our living~"

Gaara slammed his hand on the locker beside him and continued glaring heatedly at the lavender-eyed raven as he angrily snapped. "Shut it, pest! Naruto isn't someone who plays hooky with boxing! He truly loves it, which is more than you can say, since you're just using it as a mean to spend your excessively dull free time with a plaything! He has a perfectly good reason to miss this past week and half of practice, and a lowlife like you has no right to question him about it!"

The long haired raven allowed an amused chuckle to break out of his mouth, and he made his way closer to the fuming redhead before he daringly purred. "Hmm... I don't remember ever saying anything bad about Naruto-kun for you to get this defensive, but dear God, you're just making me fall harder for you."

At that moment in time, Naruto was made to witness all walls of reason he'd known since he was a child be smashed to the ground right before his eyes when the rude raven's lips connected to Gaara's in a hot kiss that was clearly forced down the other's throat. Straight afterwards, he turned into stagnant pile of goo as the violating Neji winked to his friend and whispered some parting words, before he then waltzed out of the shower room, clearly indicating that he'd had enough with turning everything upside down with his vulgar behavior.

Gaara just tsk'ed, wiped his mouth and told Naruto that he was going to check on their ring, afraid that the new disaster by the name of Hyuuga Neji would wreck it and that nothing would remain as he'd known it if he didn't go and keep an eye on him. A small part of him warned that this was the beginning of the end and that he should prepare himself for it, but the other, greater part snapped out of his shock and told him that he should just turn a blind eye and forget whatever shit he's just seen.

After taking the cold shower he'd decided to take, Naruto went with the latter choice and allowed his brain a minute to forget everything that'd caused his muscles to tense up in agony and his brain to turn into a chaotic mess. After all, he was broke, with a messed up body and a job that he wasn't sure he was going to keep –not to mention the ghost he was talking to as of late – so in the bad state that he was in, what could possibly get worse and screw him up more?

The simple answer was...nothing. He was already at rock bottom, and man did rock bottom stink of sweatiness, dampness and total failure. With a quiet sigh, Naruto slid slowly down into a slum of depression, and allowed the icy waters above to pound relentlessly on his exposed frame.