"Naruto, you're not serious, are you?"

"Yes, I am. He hasn't spoken to me for a whole week – a WHOLE FREAKING WEEK, Sakura. And no matter what I do to try and attract his attention, he just goes off and ignores me. I've tried everything and nothing seems to work, so I'm getting really frustrated right now."

Sakura knew by now that her friend had his quirks, and she accepted him for who he was, but now she was starting to think he had simply gone insane, and would need a professional to handle him. Already, she was thinking about possible counselors and mental asylums that might accept him.

"Just let me get this straight," She eased, trying to grasp the whole truth before she ran to the authorities and informed them of the escape of a case from one of their strict asylums. "Your roommate, a ghost, is refusing to talk to you, a human, because you became incredibly drunk and puked in the bathroom due to crazy celebrations after a match?"

"Yep!"

"The same ghost you ran away from my house to go exorcise?"

"Turned out he doesn't need an exorcism since he's just a cranky, not vengeful, spirit. Actually, he's closer to a troubled teenager than an evil ghost."

"Naruto," She sighed, unable to keep up with his logic. "I can't handle you this early in the morning, especially without my coffee."

"But I don't have anyone else to ask for advice beside you, Sakura. You have to help me!" He exclaimed in exasperation.

The pink haired woman snorted at her own gentleness towards him and ruffled her messy locks, allowing them to fall gently over her blue polka-dot pajamas. "I swear to God, I'm just too kind to you. Still, if I'm going to help, there is some basic information I'll need to correct and verify with you, which you will not argue with me about."

"I can give whatever you want to know about my situation. What do you need to correct, though?"

"Firstly," she began with a serious look in her shining jade-coloured eyes. "You don't have a roommate and secondly, you didn't see or know any ghost. Those are what I need to correct for you and, as I stated before, I will not accept any arguing in this matter."

Naruto scowled, trying to extract some sense from her modifications. "That doesn't make sense. How can you help me if you're denying the root of my problem's existence?"

"Baka-ruto, if you want my help, this is the only way for me to be able to give it. You may not think much of it, but I'm not that big of a fan of ghost stories and if you're been honest about one living with you, then I don't want to know anything about it. So, I'll help you on the condition that we treat him as a human being, and a living human being at that. I've enough troubles in my life and I don't need a potential horror case to be added to them."

"...He's not scary, though."

"Naruto!"

The blond looked at the wooden table before him and his facial muscles took turns in changing his expression, before they finally settled on a nice scowl. "Fine, you can do whatever you want and alter whatever facts to suit your truth; just don't call them corrections, because they aren't. They're your thoughts, just as mine are, and nothing proves them to be right so I can't argue with you. Despite this, you should know that I don't like how you're denying his identity for your own ease of mind... but I won't disagree with you and your opinion. Anyways, what's your advice?"

"Before I get to that, just give me an answer to this; why do you care for his attention anyway?"

At this, he raised a thick brow at her. "What's up with that question?"

"Nothing, just answer it. It would make me more acquainted with your situation."

"Hmm...I can't really say, but as you know, I've always been a busybody, and it irks me to think that he's ignoring me for something as stupid as being a fool and drinking my ass off."

"Yeah, but not to this extent. You've woken me up, at an ungodly hour, and you're being frustrated just because he's ignoring you. You've never overreacted like this before, and you've been ignored an awful a lot. What's with him that makes you this...concerned?"

Naruto released a sigh then ruffled his morning locks, trying to crack out a reason that would satisfy her. "Umm...I don't really know, but maybe because he reminds me of myself back then. When I was in my rebellious stage during high school, it was a shitty time for me and I'd lost hope a lot of times. Back then, if I didn't have you, Gaara and Gai-sensei, maybe I'd have committed suicide or ended up as some corpse in a ditch from one of my many street fights... Perhaps I can relate to his hidden sorrows due to my own experiences, so that's why I want to know why he's blatantly ignoring me for such a lousy reason."

"How do you know he resembles you anyway? Maybe you're just trying to force your judgments onto him simply because you want to help him – which, according to you, is akin to what I'm doing right now."

Naruto shook his head with a confident smile, and with a tone matching his facial expression he retorted: "It's his eyes. He has the same eyes as I did when I was seventeen, lost in my own regrets and drunk on the self-loathing path I'd paved for myself. I understand because his eyes speak louder and they say much more than his lips."

In turn, Sakura sighed in and stood up at the sound of her coffee machine buzzing as it told her that the beans inside had successfully been converted to her own special drug. Walking towards the kitchen, she poured herself a huge mug of the tranquilizing drink and added a heavy amount of milk and sugar to the other mug containing the blond's coffee, before she returned to her living room.

With a nod, she handed Naruto the pink mug she reserved for guests, and continued the conversation where they'd left off. "Okay, I guess that makes sense... however, do you really think you can help him?"

Naruto put the warm mug onto the table and contemplated her question. "It's not just about helping him, though...I think that I just want him to know there's someone here who understands his pains and the things he's going through. I'd be absolutely ecstatic if he was able to get that and move on to the next worl–"

"Naruto, what did we say about his identity as a human?" She warned, taking a sip of her drink.

The blond smiled sheepishly in reply. "Sorry, Sakura-chan, I just got carried away with my explanation. So what's your advice for me?"

"Well, you said he stopped talking to you right after that night, so my guess is that he's just irritated at you for your actions or words... You do know you turn into an annoying jerk whenever you drink, right?"

"Oh, I remembered that, but I thought about it and it doesn't seem right. It appears like he's mad about something... deeper."

"Deeper? What the hell did you do, Baka-ruto?"

"I don't know... I'm not even sure if I did anything to him. I was pretty much dead drunk, so my memories of that night are extremely foggy right now."

"...Then just forget about it. You have a bad memory to begin with, and alcohol only exacerbates it even further. For now, just try to act normal; maybe he's just going through some phase 'humans' like him go through. In any case, don't stress too much about these little things."

"Would that actually work, though? I don't want him to move away..."

"Well, if he was simply annoyed with your drunken self and couldn't put up with something as simple as that, then maybe it would be for the best that he moves away. However, if the reason was something else you did or said to him, then only time can tell you what you need to know. That's all I can say on the topic."

"That's not very helpful, Sakura; I could have thought about that myself." Naruto whined, earning a smack to his body from his annoyed conversation partner.

"Douchebag, you had no useful information to give so I did best with what you had. Just be thankful I didn't kick your ass out the minute I saw your pathetic face!"

Snorting at the emergence of her lousy character, Naruto gulped down the rest of the now-cold coffee and stood up. "It doesn't change the fact that you were no help at all. I came here thinking you'd have a solution to all of my troubles, yet all you could croak out was 'just ignore it'."

"Hey! Just what do you think I am? I'm not some magician that solves all your problems with a wave of my magic wand!Grow a spine already and face your problems head-on, because I won't have an epiphany to explain the shit you did to your roommate simply because you believe it's my responsibility!"

Naruto directed a petulant gaze at her and muttered in a hushed voice. "...I'm disappointed in you, Sakura. You've lost your touch."

For Sakura, that was the last straw. In three seconds flat, Naruto was hit, kicked, and thrown out of her vast apartment. Nursing the bump that started forming when his head collided with the wall, Naruto mentally facepalmed at his foolish act; he should've known better than to aim for Sakura's temper when she was still in her pajamas. The bruises on his shoulder were testament to her crankiness in the morning, and were just another demonstration of the fact that Sakura really needed anger-control sessions and that he needed self-protection sessions –besides boxing, since he couldn't use that on her. Sighing, he reluctantly walked back to his problem-filled apartment, still nursing the injuries he'd sustained from his vicious eviction.

On the other side of the door, Sakura cursed her own awful memory in not telling Naruto of the important piece of information that he needed to know, as it didn't occur to her until it was too late. Sakura groaned and blamed her forgetfulness on the fact that she'd been woken up far earlier than she was accustomed to.

"Guess I'll just have to let him know another time."

Yawning tiredly, she went back to bed to wait for her usual time to come, where she'd need to get up, get dressed and head to yet another tiring day of her training. At the prospect of another hellish day in the life of the next-best designer, she moaned again and stumbled into bed.

||XxXx||

Naruto blinked at the sharp, black eyes that stared straight into his the minute he walked inside his apartment. He tried to stumble back a few steps to be able to breathe without being afraid to suck the other inside his lung – since he was just like thin air – but that task proved impossible thanks to some eerie restrictions that were keeping him firmly in place. Feeling confused, he questioned the transparent form.

"Umm...Blue-chan? Is something wrong?"

"Where have you been?"

At the pissed off tone, Naruto knew he'd need to watch his words very carefully, so he started with a calm tenor to ease the ethereal being into a relaxed state. "I went to Sakura's place. Did something happen?"

"A- When you want your shit delivered here, don't wander out, because I don't appreciate strangers roaming through my territory. B- When you want friends over, don't ask them over, since I won't hesitate into sending them to where I am."

When the threat was made perfectly clear to him, Naruto nodded to convey his understanding and replied. "Got it, sorry for disturbing you. But if you don't mind me asking you... who came to visit?"

The ghost seemed to be satisfied with having his orders listened to so, with a twirl from his fingers, he freed Naruto's intangible bindings so he could stumble to whatever place he wished to stumble to. As the blond stumbled back, the ghost curtly answered. "Some redhead who tried to poke his nose into my apartment. Hmph, I showed him right!"

At the proud and evil smirk, millions of unwanted scenarios played inside Naruto's head and he would've lashed out with vehement questions about Gaara's wellbeing, were it not for his recollection of Sakura's words. He needed to take a deep breath and act normal, since whatever the other was saying didn't prove that he did anything bad to Gaara. After all, he had just warned him of what would happen if his friends trespassed a second time, which meant that he didn't kill Gaara this time, but wouldn't hesitate to do so the second time. Having his insides cool down at this thought, Naruto inquired for confirmation.

"You didn't kill him or anything like that, right?"

"That shithead wasn't even worthy of my wrath. I just played with him a little and gave him a small bump to agonize over. Well, I taught him a lesson of what would happen to him the next time he ever sticks his stinking nose into other's homes when they're not in."

Naruto ran a hand through his golden locks and sighed. "I think I should just thank God you didn't do anything to his hands – but please, try not to scare me like that next time. Anyways, I'm going to take a bath and then going shopping, since the fridge is empty, so you're welcome to tag along afterwards, if you want."

The ghost just floated by idly, as if he hadn't said a word at all, and Naruto exhaled in tired exasperation. With the kind of treatment that he was experiencing, it was crystal clear that they had made their way back to point zero, where his ghost refused to acknowledge the other's good will and spent most of his time in a fixed position... just like a beautiful painting hanging on his wall. That had gotten him thinking back to that awful night in an attempt to remember something – anything – that could be even remotely connected to why he was receiving the proverbial cold shoulder from the ghost... but again, it was all blanks.

He remembered scant events in the haziness of his drunken state. He went to the bathroom, blanked out, vomited, blanked out again, woke in the middle of the night in his bed, blanked out yet again, and finally awoke to the sound of his alarm clock –the alarm clock he had no memory of setting– with a severe hangover that made his body shudder in pain.

And then something beautiful happened.

For a small moment, the golden sparkles following his ghostly roommate had turned into a brightly warm hue of red, which mixed well with the icy navy-blue swathe he pulled under him, causing Naruto to be lost in a state of awe. Then, when their eyes met and the ghost made sure the other was wide awake, the red faded back to the normal gold sparkles instantaneously, and Naruto was left to wonder whether it had been a fragment of his imagination or if it was real.

What was more confusing, though, was how he'd been treated in the moments that followed this; it was like the other had lost all animosity towards him and decided to turn over a new friendly leaf with the oblivious blond. However, the moment he opened his mouth to say something... his vision turned pitch black, the sky darkened and his bedroom was covered in a shadowy death-like coat that alleviated itself as soon as he blinked.

The blond frowned at his recollections – if he wasn't wrong, the moment he spoke was the moment the other had decided that the silent treatment was to be applied to him. But...what did he say in that sentence that ruined all the progress he'd worked his ass off to achieve? Just what did he say?!

As he started discarding his clothes to the wash-basket, Naruto racked his brain for the elusive key to his problems. It wasn't something big or humiliating, and he'd made sure to never curse the other –since he was a teen younger than him– so what was it? What did he say that was so bad to deserve the silent treatment?

Naruto finally recalled his words, but the memory only caused his frown to deepen further; all he'd done was open his mouth with a wide grin and chirpily blurt out 'good morning, Blue-chan'. Somehow, that simple greeting had shaken the whole room to the ground, but as far as he knew, there was nothing wrong with that sentence; after all, it was the greeting he instinctively repeated each and every morning. He'd say it even if he didn't see the ghost, because he knew he'd be floating somewhere within the apartment and his words would surely reach the other's ears... and yet, on that dreadful morning, those words proved to be the wrong thing to say.

At this thought, another cycle of questions began forming within Naruto's head. Was it the name? No, he'd used it on numerous occasions and the ghost didn't seem to mind. Had it the 'good morning' part then? He'd said that multiple times, and the ghost had no objections either. Then what had ticked him off? What inflamed the bomb of silence to explode on his face?!

His brain was beginning to spiral in an endless cycle, so Naruto chose to put a lid on this subject for the time being, in an attempt to act as if nothing had happened and hope that, eventually, Blue-chan would believe his act and they'd return to normal... well, as normal as the situation could be. He assured himself that it was the best measure for now...yet the suspicion that something wrong had happened that morning didn't leave his heart.

"BLUE-CHAN! What did I do wrong?! Answer me!"

It was just too frustrating to continue like this. The blond exited the bathroom with only a towel tied over his waist while his torso was engulfed in soapy foam. He gritted his teeth when the ghost was nowhere to be found and called –more like shouted– the nickname again in an attempt to penetrate the walls with his voice, and thus summon the ghost to him.

"BLUE-CHAN! Come here! We need to talk!"

Ten more minutes of calling later resulted in the subject of his frustration finally chose to reveal himself. By this time, his body had entered the initial stages of hypothermia and his teeth had begun chattering against each other as a faint means to inform him to either get back into the warm water, or put on some clothes before he froze to death.

A cold, calm gaze faced him, accompanied by a snarl from those faint rosy lips. "What?"

"I'm sorry! I sincerely apologize for whatever it is that I've done or said to hurt your feelings. I was drunk, and I don't remember much, but still I'm very sorry! Won't you forgive me already?"

"It's pointless to apologize for something you don't even remember doing."

The ghost started disappearing after his icy reply, but refusing to accept his rejection, Naruto tried harder to sway him. "But I've hurt you. I have a very bad memory and drinking doesn't fix it either, but I don't want us to continue like this, so please, whatever it's that I did wrong, I'm sorry for it!"

"I told you already; it's pointless, since you didn't do anything."

Naruto blinked at the words. "Huh? I didn't do anything?"

"You didn't."

"Then why are you ignoring me?"

The ghost looked everywhere but into the shining azure orbs questioning him, before he lied through his teeth. "I need some alone time. Being with a human isn't good for me because I'm getting weaker and I'm losing my powers. I'm just putting things into their rightful place by distancing myself."

"You're lying." Naruto firmly retorted, before he walked three steps to the right to change his perspective so he would be able to see the facial features the ghost was hiding from him. "I may not know a lot of things, but I know when someone is lying to me, and right now, you're lying. Tell me the truth; why are you ignoring me? Why are you angry? What did I do to hurt your feelings? Tell me, Blue-chan, tell me!"

Suddenly the walls around him turned a murky shade of black –much like what happened that morning– and the windows sealed shut, reintroducing Naruto to the horror of having a spirit get angry with him. The blond braced himself and swallowed past the thick lump in his throat.

"That fucking name! Don't ever call me with that fucking name AGAIN!"

It took Naruto a while amidst the hellish projections he was witnessing to be able think straight, and some time more to connect the ghost's words with his line of inquiry. However, he managed this task in due time, and when he did, he blinked and countered back.

"But I have no other name to call you with; you refused to tell me your name."

Apparently, this seemed to be the wrong answer to counter with, because the darkness engulfing him seemed to only increase in severity. Naruto backed away a few steps when it was apparent that if he didn't, he'd be swamped by the darkness the other was currently emitting. After all, an eerie feeling told him that being engulfed in the shadows wouldn't be very pleasant.

"I have a name, and a proud one at that! Just ask that lousy memory of yours for it!"

The blond blinked and tilted his head at the novelty of the ghost's words. "...I... you told me your name?"

At the completely oblivious gaze directed at him, the ethereal being felt the darkness inside of him subside as he was consumed by lethargy, and as abruptly as it had come, the surrounding darkness he was controlling vanished. His blank eyes looked directly into startled blue ones and, releasing a snort, he turned his back to the unaware male and tiredly answered.

"I've had enough. I'm done wasting my breath. Go fuck yourself and that memory of yours!"

Before Naruto was allowed to explain himself, the angry teenage ghost vanished in swirls of gold. The blond boxer rubbed the back of his head and heaved a sigh, before muttering:

"How did things get so complicated so fast?"

||XxXx||

Naruto winced and deposited the forkful of freshly cooked noodles into his mouth. After the little fit that couldn't even be called a fit was made, his invisible roommate became even more distant and unapproachable than the first night they'd spent together. Of course, they didn't have a working relationship to begin with, but the blond liked to think that he was gradually thawing out the dead male's icy heart. Well... not thawing, per se, but shifting from deathly loathing to frequent detainment, and perhaps to some sort of decent conversations.

Even if that conversation was merely his voice echoing around him.

Naruto sighed and put down the fork, visibly shivering at the iciness that had engulfed his form ever since his argument with the ghost, before he pulled the thick jacket he was wearing tighter around his form. They had already passed the cold days and the weather was getting warmer outside, but for some reason his apartment refused to warm up... and though he knew the source of the sudden change of atmosphere, he could do nothing about it.

Taking his unfinished plate to the sink, he frowned as he dropped the leftovers into the trash. Under normal circumstances, he'd never leave any noodles behind, but currently his appetite was poor, and even the thought of food was intolerable. With the frown still clouding his beautiful features, he deposited the remainder of his leftover noodles into the trashcan and washed his plate, before he went over to his TV set. This was his week off –he had no matches, no tournaments and no training – so there was no work that would require him to lift a ditsy, itsy, bitsy little finger. With carefree abandon, Naruto flipped through the channels, and stopped at a football match.

All he could see were sweaty dudes running around like buffalos in an open field as they pursued a ball. He snorted in derision at their actions and reminded himself to never participate in the shitty sport. It wasn't fancy or classy like the other elegant sports – it was filthy and underhanded, in his opinion – nor did it have the strength behind his boxing, or the excitement and the thrill. Anyone could be a footballer, but only those with privilege, talent and pure determination could aspire to become professional boxers. Of course, there were some people who learned the sport and misused it, but there is always a yin to the yang in all aspect of life.

Having enough of the sport that he didn't appreciate, Naruto shut the TV and leant his head back onto the sofa. With nerves that were strained like thin violin strings, he shouted:

"I. AM. SORRY!"

After that shout, he waited for a reaction, but nothing happened; the walls stood still, the air was still as cold as ever, and the distress inside his heart still remained. Naruto put a hand over his eyes and tried to convey his anxious thoughts in a suppressed whisper.

"I forget stuff easily when I drink, and remembering never works. I'm sorry for forgetting something important like your name, but it wasn't intentional. Back in school, I'd get into different types of problems because of this, which was why I tried to avoid alcohol. Yet that night, I couldn't; it was literally shoved down my throat and I couldn't get it out. Anyhow," the blond shook off the memory of that night and continued his apology, "You have the right to be pissed at me; heck I'd be too if I was in your situation, but still, I have to say I'm sorry...truly sorry. I promise, if you tell me again, if you entrust it to me again, I won't ever forget it! So will you believe in me one more time and allow me to learn your name when I'm sober?"

"...You know, I didn't actually trust you the first time around."

Naruto felt his heartbeat hiccup in shock at the cool voice that resonated from behind, and composed his expression to reveal nothing but ease. Soothing his tense muscles, he turned his head around with a smile and replied to the faint whisper with an equally quiet, "I know, but I'm asking you for trust now, and I hope you can, at least, give me a little by telling me your name."

"I told you my name, and you forgot."

"Which is something I'm very sorry for."

"Do you know what it means for a ghost to tell a mortal his name?"

"Something big?"

"A name holds power, be it a human's, demon's, ghost's or even an animal's. If you reveal your name loosely, this gives your opponent power over you. Humans nonchalantly provide their names to strangers, and they don't see the power they're letting go off or how bad that might affect them in the future. They are foolish enough to have surrendered themselves to others out of affection, but I won't be like them and make the same mistake again."

Naruto's blue eyes softened and, with a shake of his head, he refuted the being's. "Giving out names isn't a mistake; we do so because names are important to us and we want to be called by them. My parents gave me this name and I'm proud of it, so I wouldn't want anyone to call me anything else, because they had a hard time deciding. Whenever I hear my name being called, my heart sings with joy because I remember how much love and care they have for me when they gave me a name. It's not something that people use to harm others with; it's something people use to get closer, for them to bond and connect with others."

"Hmph. A ghost has no need for connecting."

"Well, since I have no idea what it's like up there where dead people continue to haunt Earth, I may not have the right words to counter your argument, but I do know that if I turn into a ghost, I'd get myself a partner. Since I hate the feeling of loneliness the most, the first thing I'd do to stay connected is to haunt a person."

The blue sparkles surrounding the ethereal being shone a little brighter, and Naruto liked to think that it was his doing. "I don't think you'll find anyone who would put up with your idiocy."

"Hmm... I don't think I'll have a problem there," Naruto flopped off the sofa and onto his legs, before he grinned widely at the floating male and added; "Since I'll be heading straight for you."

The ghost's cold, dark eyes widened instantly at the words, and for a second, he felt his face radiate heat as his embarrassment emanated clearly from him. Without his approval, a faint red blush decorated the area surrounding his face, and his eyes widened further when he felt the reaction his ghostly power was showing without his consent.

Naruto was equally startled, but his expression quickly changed to that of amusement at the beautiful mixture of red, blue and gold sparkles wreathing his roommate. The amusement was something he didn't like to keep to himself, so with a happy demeanour he blurted out.

"You're really cute when you're honest."

"C-Cute?! How dare you?!"

The blond was successful in dodging the lamp that floated its way towards his head, but before something bigger than a lamp started to attack him from behind he defensively negated "Oh, come on, I was just telling the truth, and- wait, wait, wait...!" he frantically backtracked when the room began to turn ominously dark. "Okay, I take it back; you're not cute, not at all!"

Satisfied with the result he got, the proud ghost allowed a smug look to appear on his face. "Good. Don't you dare call me something unworthy of my status ever again, understood?"

Not wanting the peaceful moment to turn into the gateways to hell in a mere second, Naruto hesitantly complied with a bow. "Understood, your highness."

"...It's not your highness, it's Sasuke."

For the second time that day, Naruto was allowed a peek into the beautiful color mixture that put the old, familiar rainbow to shame. He grinned back with delight and chirpily responded.

"Sasuke it is, then!"

||XxXx||

"You know, I don't really need a daily update on your life with your ghost." Gaara clarified, ignoring the girl that was fawning over him as she deposited his coffee in front of him.

"And," Naruto waited for the intruding waitress to finish staring her full at his captivatingly browless friend and then continued. "I'm not giving it. You asked how I was doing so I gave a brief summary."

"Telling me every second of every minute of every hour of every day for a whole week isn't considered brief," he retorted, and when Naruto's lips started moving towards objection he caustically added "Besides, a simple 'I'm fine, he's fine' would have sufficed."

Naruto rolled his eyes at his friend and responded with "Well, not all of us like giving curt replies."

"What pisses me off is that you know this and yet you still pester me with long ones. Do you want me to punch your face into a pulp that much?"

"I'd like to see you try; with that bony hook of yours, you'd be lucky if you could slam a fist on me without snapping it in two."

"Our previous game begs to differ."

"Our previous game doesn't count, since my mind was elsewhere and I wasn't concentrating."

"Concentrating or not, you lost, fair and square. Anyhow, I doubt you invited me here just to gloat about the successes you've had with your ghost... or is that actually the case?"

When Naruto's sheepish gaze met the redhead's one, Gaara glared at the other and started standing up. The blond quickly steadied him and plaintively explained.

"I really needed someone to tell! And Sakura-chan was busy!"

"Let go of me, Uzumaki. I can't believe I came all the way from my house for this shit. Let me go, or today would be the last you see of me!"

Naruto knew that the icy tone meant death with Gaara, so he let go of his redhead friend, but instead reverted to plan B- begging piteously for forgiveness.

"Oh please, Gaara! Oh great, powerful, first-class boxer Gaara-sama! I beg of thou to sit with me awhile longer! I've nothing to do and it's boring as hell at home! So please stay with me and I'll make it worth your while to hang out with me!"

"There are other people who are free; you can call anyone from the club and I'm sure they'd gladly accompany you into this worthless 'hanging-out' game you're playing."

"Yeah, but nobody else knows about him and besides, you've been my friend since forever!"

To make his point across, the blond stretched his arms one-eight degrees, and dramatically explained just how much 'forever' meant to him. At this, Gaara snorted and returned to his seat.

"Seriously, I'm too good to you. I should stop spoiling you like this."

"No, you shouldn't. Sakura is doing that enough for the both of you and I need a friend I can hang with when I want to, so please don't turn into another Sakura."

"I won't. So, here I am... tell me whatever you want to tell me now. I've disregarded all the important things I should be doing today to listen to your useless blabber, so you better make it worth my while!"

"Hmm...where should I start then?"

"You were up to the part after your little fight, when he told you his name was Sasu–"

"Oh yeah, that's right! I just can't describe his cuteness! I mean, he'd give off this lovely red every time I call him 'Sasuke', and his name is becoming more like a way to tease him than for me to connect with him. I don't know what I'm feeling, but I just want to bully him more every time he shows his adorable blushes."

"You're a horrible adult."

"No, I'm not. No one told him to be that cute! It's his fault!"

"You're just like a pedophile who blames children for seducing him."

Two blond brows furrowed at that statement before a loud mouth complained "Ew, Gaara, that's just nasty. For one, I'm not a pedo, since he's approximately the right age for an adult, and for another, I don't swing that way – he's just like a little brother to me, or even a cat or a dog. That's all it is..."

"It's amazing how you can compare a mere dog or cat to an actual human being, and a brother at that."

"Well, they all make you feel special and they love you unconditionally as well, so they're basically the same."

"You just overlooked all the fundamental differences that distinguish humans and animals, and I'm perfectly sure every living human with siblings would be planning assassination attempts on you had they heard your words."

"Naah, they won't kill me, I'll just stand my ground. Besides, there's no reason for them to be pissed. Unconditional love is something wonderful, regardless of who or what it comes from."

"You're just saying that because you're an only child."

"And you're saying that because you have siblings."

"I know what hatred for them feels like, which is why I refuse you saying that every siblings love each other unconditionally –"

"But you don't deny their connection to dogs and cats?"

The redhead nodded coolly and folded his hands over his chest. "Yes. Kankuro resembles a rabid dog, and Tamari's more like a vicious cat. The only difference is that animals can be put down for legal reasons, while humans... are a bit trickier to kill off."

"Gaara, I swear to God, you're just cruel! I'd never want to be an animal around you! And besides, your siblings are cool! I don't see why you hate them so much."

"They're as annoying as fuck, since they're always butting into my business with that woman."

Naruto's features took a soft turn to them at the other's bitter words. Gaara's stepmother, that 'woman' the redhead had referred to, was the woman that'd gave birth to Tamari and Kankuro. She was also the one his father had left to marry his mother, and she had been the one he'd returned to when his mother passed away in her sleep. He knew that, in his friend's heart, he couldn't stop blaming his stepmother for his mother's death, and although it was proven that his mother died of purely natural causes, Gaara just couldn't forgive his father's treachery in remarrying that woman. Naruto thought that to be the reason why the redhead never warmed up to his elder siblings.

He sighed, not wanting to enter into a banal conversation with Gaara about the negative perspective he had of his family. Although he wanted his friend to correct his thoughts about his siblings and tell him to grow up some more, he wasn't up for the task at the moment. When his friend was a little more receptive to his words, he'd get it through his thick skull that his mother's death was no one's fault, and that his siblings were amazing and they loved him unconditionally, even if his feelings were anything but. Until then, though...

"By the way, how did he die?" His friend's soft tone brought the blond back from the depths of his thoughts and at this distraction, he blinked his eyes confusedly.

"How did who die?"

Gaara swallowed the sarcastic remark on the tip of his tongue and patiently answered "Your ghost."

Naruto frowned and crossed his arms thoughtfully. "Hmmm....that's a very good question that I've never asked before, and don't know the answer to."

"What, weren't you interested? He's only eighteen, isn't he? Don't the circumstances surrounding his death intrigue you?"

"Of course I'm interested, but that's not the problem here. You know, I have a million other questions for him... Like, say, what's life after death like? Is there a life after death? How did he turn into a ghost? Was it because he still had lingering regrets? Can I do something to help erase these regrets? Who were his parents? How did he live? Why did he die? I could go on forever, but the problem lies in him, and not me. Even now, after he told me his name, he continued to distance himself from me; it's almost like he drew a line on day one that neither of us can cross. That's pretty much the reason why I'm unable to ask him personal questions."

"I find this hard to believe, Naruto, because you know no boundaries. Your character is based on not knowing them; heck, I didn't even know you knew them. So why are you starting now?"

The blond's blue eyes turned soft and Gaara raised an invisible eyebrow at this strange reaction. "He seems hurt, you know. Sometimes, there are times when I've found him sit-floating beside the window and looking off into the distance, and I'm sure he wasn't looking at the streets. He was looking back at his past, and every time he does his face always looks as if it's being crushed by pain, and when I see that... I just can't and won't do it. How could I be so cruel as to ask him to open his heart to me when he still harbors such pain?"

"Then you'll just have to continue living with a ghost whose story you don't know and a barrier that'll prevent you from ever knowing it. Well, you're an adult and you need to figure out these things yourself – at least, I think you should – so I won't judge you. As your friend, though, it worries me to see how bad your problems are getting."

"Yeah, thanks. Actually, even though he's closing his heart to me these days, it seems like he's come a bit closer to home, you know? So I guess I can savor the feeling of it."

"Well," Gaara took the jacket he had discarded about twenty six minutes ago when his friend forced him to stay with him, and said with a parting tone, "I think you should continue with your current tactic and make him feel closer to you then, if that's what you believe is right. Even though I may not agree with you, and a small part of me is firm in the belief that you've gone insane and I'm just wasting my time and breath giving advice to a crazy person, I'm choosing, for the most part, to believe in you. You've never lied to me before –except for those small white lies of yours– and if you say you're seeing a ghost, then you're definitely seeing a ghost. So... basically, what I wanted to say is: be careful. Even if you don't mean it, emotions can develop, and getting attached to a person who has already departed this world will only leave a bitter taste in your mouth. Seriously, listen to my advice, because I'd hate to see you broken like that other time."

Naruto gave the other an assuringly bright grin. "Don't worry; I learnt how to protect myself, so I'll never allow myself to go that far again."

"Hn. If you say so, then I'll trust you on this one. Later."

The blond didn't stop his boxer friend when he left, and didn't even bother to complain when he was forced to pay for the both of them. After all, his brain was still hooked on the last words the other had said...

Don't get too attached.

...And he hated how the little voice inside his head was evilly screaming that it was a little too late for that.

||XxXx||

"She's returned, Naruto."

The blond blinked innocently at his best female friend and adjusted the new boxing gloves he'd gotten himself. "Who's back?"

"...Hinata. She arrived from New York two weeks ago."

Sakura noticed the little shiver that ran through Naruto's body and the way his blue eyes darkened; she noticed it all, and bit her lower lip in an unconscious display of guilt. She didn't want to be the one to tell him, to rip open his old wounds and pour salt on them by asking him to meet with his old love – or even see her face – but it was her responsibility, and she knew she couldn't just leave Naruto with an old wound tearing at his heart like that. She needed to remove the torture that forbade him from ever knowing or loving a new person, and eliminate the indefinite hiatus in his love life that kept him armoring his heart so he'd never be betrayed again.

"...H-Hinata?"

She nodded and reached for the instant coffee that he'd served her the minute she waltzed inside his apartment. Sakura made a mental note to compliment him on the nice aroma and the comforting atmosphere, as well as the lovely way his furniture was arranged in the house. She wanted to tell him now, but she'd leave it all for afterwards, when she was finished with the shocking news she came to deliver.

"Yes. You know, she wants to see you."

It took five whole minutes for Naruto's initial shock to fade from his face, and it took much longer for him to decipher her new words... or attempt to, in any case.

"Come again?"

The pink haired girl fought the urge to hightail it out of there and bitch to Hinata about doing her own dirty work, but for Naruto's sake, she valiantly fought the urge to do so. "I said, she wants to see you. Apparently, she's only here for one month, and she said she had some important things to say to you before she left again."

This time, she got a reaction out of him, and it wasn't a reaction she didn't see coming. Predictably enough, his brows furrowed at her words and he stood up, before he discarded his gloves and took a step back. "I... there's nothing between us; I have nothing to say to her anymore."

"Yeah... but still, she has something to say to you. Naruto, just give her a chance and let her meet up with you."

"I... I don't want to see her."

Sakura heaved a sigh and walked towards him. With a gentle touch of her hand, she jolted him from the memories that were surely plaguing him since the moment her lips released the old name of his former love, and his current source of heartache and pain. Hopefully, her touch had also momentarily expelled the nightmares she was sure he was still having in those dark nights where the rain ruled the heavens and loneliness gripped his heart.

"Naruto, I know what you're thinking about right now, but you have to see her and you should hear what she has to say for herself. You can't just shy away from the old pain and pretend that she didn't hurt you for the rest of your life."

Naruto proceeded to shake her hand off softly and make his way towards his room as he tried to deal with the heavy storm that had swept in with all its destructive force. "Sakura, I don't want to see her... and I trust you know your way out."

With a crushing sense of finality, the blond went inside his room and shut the door behind him. Sakura scowled at his behavior and sighed in reluctant acceptance. She knew that a rejection was forthcoming and that it wouldn't be easy to get Naruto to meet up with Hinata, but she really did think that there was a distinctly Hinata-shaped wound left unhealed in his heart and, until they dealt with the problem, that wound will never heal. Looking at the closed door, Sakura pulled a paper from her purse and wrote something on it, before she pinned it on the fridge's door near the schedule for the upcoming training session Naruto was supposed to be starting a week from now.

She gave one last look to the apartment she had picked for her best bud and walked out, oblivious to the way the paper she'd left floated ever so lightly to the hands of the transparent being standing elegantly by the door. There was no way that she could see the small, unsatisfied yet interested twinkle deep inside that pit of darkness Sasuke liked to call his eyes, and if she had, she might've been worried by the response the ghost had to her note.

"Hn..."

||XxXx||

"Sasuke... can you please bring me the book over there?"

"I'm not your servant."

Naruto smiled gently at the nasty reply, but before he was able to refute the statement, the book he wanted floated magically into his arms, and his smile brightened into a thankful grin.

"Thank you."

"Hn."

"Sasuke, can I ask you something?"

"It's not like you'd stop if I said no."

"Yep, you're right, I'd probably ask anyway. So... hmm... I know this is out of the blue and all, but... umm... have you ever fallen in love before?" At the deathly quiet atmosphere, Naruto sat down on the bed and began to explain. "Well... I mean before you turned into a ghost and all... but it's okay if you don't want to answer–"

"I've had countless girlfriends, but I could never see why they squeaked in happiness and joy when they were with me, or why they said 'I love you' all the time. I don't know what it is, I have never been in love before, and I couldn't care less about it."

Naruto smiled at the honest reply, because it showed him that they were actually making progress in their weird and awkward friendship. Amongst the daily obnoxious words thrown his way and the familiar death threats, there were times when the truth was being given, and it was at these times that Naruto allowed his heart a minute to rejoice at the mile they have conquered together.

"Hmm...do you ever wish that you had learned what true love was before you died?"

As a minute went by and Naruto turned from the bag he was packing to spare him a glance, he was taken aback by the genuine interest and thought the floating teen was giving to him and his words.

"Honestly, no. I didn't give a shit about it then, and I don't give a shit about it now. It was enough for me to deal with the problems I had, and adding the fickle emotion of love to my life wasn't something I'd have wished for. Lust was enough for me."

"Lust, ha?"

"...Yes."

"How old were you when you died?"

"How old do I look to you right now?"

Naruto smiled and brought the bag he was preparing closer to him. He tucked the two black socks in his hand into the outer pocket of the bag, before he relaxed back onto the bed and supported his weight with his hands. After some thought, he guessed "Eighteen, seventeen, or maybe sixteen...give or take a year."

"Then we'll leave it at that."

Sasuke was floating closer to him as he spoke, and Naruto made sure to maintain the tranquil smile he had on his face. He didn't change his position when the air around him seemed to pick up speed and, for some unknown reason, it started glowing gold to match the colors dancing around the ethereal being. He didn't know if it was due to the gold he was inhaling or just by the black irises sending him into a catatonic and trouble-free state, but no matter what it was, the unease in his heart drained away, only to leave him feeling unusually calm and peaceful.

Without meaning to, his mouth allowed another question to slip out. "The lingering emotions you have... they're not caused by a girl, are they?"

The question proved to be a fatal one, because the calmness surrounding him abruptly snapped back to the status quo, and Naruto felt that the answer to that question of his rang loud and clear in the ensuing awkwardness. With downcast eyes now facing the ground, he continued talking as once again, the words flowed out of him like a waterfall.

"I, too, have lingering emotions because of a girl. She was my first love –wait, that's not quite right, since Sakura was my first love – so instead of being my first love, I'd have to say that she was my first truelove. I adored everything about her, and I didn't even mind dying for her, so I guess she was my whole world and my whole life. The time we spent together, both in high school and our first year of college, were the best years of my life..."

Sasuke floated in silence, waiting for the 'but' that would shatter all the good things the blond had just mentioned, but it never came out, and he was gracious enough to allow Naruto to keep the part after the 'but' to himself. Just being told, and trusted with, that amount of information was enough to him, and Sasuke halted the self-torture mechanism he was accustomed to at that thought to another time.

He stretched his hand to deliver a soft gesture that the little ray of humanity inside of him told him he should do, but as his index finger went right through the blond lock he was aiming for, Sasuke quickly withdrew his hand away. As his senses returned and relief flooded him from seeing that he was fast enough to forbid the human from sensing any change in his surroundings, he decided to change his tactics, and tried another approach.

"I recorded the game you wanted to see the other day..." He flickered one of his fingers and a CD came floating to Naruto's fingertips. "It's in this CD. You said it was important to learn the moves your opponent was making and I think you'll be able to do so with this."

When startled, azure orbs faced him, the teenager ghost turned his face and began floating away. He refused to be acknowledged as the one who'd done something nice for his human invader and was all too ready to make his escape, when he was prevented from doing so.

"Wait, Sasuke!"

His name. It was like a shackle he'd wrapped around his ankle, and he was the one stupid enough to give the key of it to Naruto. Unable to move until the other deigned to release him with his words, Sasuke spared a look behind him and grumbled.

"What?"

"...Thank you, Sasuke"

"I didn't really do it for you, but I figured if you lost, you'd drink, and then I'll have to clean your mess... I never want a repetition of the last accident you made in the bathroom again."

Naruto wanted to correct the other and say that he didn't drink because he'd lost, but rather because he'd won. However, for some reason, he knew if he clarified the situation, the nice gesture that had been done for him would be taken back and would probably never be repeated again, so he smiled and continued with his thanks.

"I promise I won't lose, so you won't have to take care of me that way again."

"You better remember those words and value them, because I hate liars."

"I never lie."

"Good."

With that, Naruto watched his invisible roommate wander out of his room and away from his sight. Feeling buoyed up by the other's gestures, he continued packing his stuff for his week-long match away from home. Ignoring the wound inside his heart that reminded him of his cowardice in running away that hinted at just how much of a chicken he was being right now, Naruto continued packing with great zeal.

Zipping his bag up, the blond resigned himself to his fate as a coward, and sharply noted to his heart that there was nothing wrong with being a chicken and running away from reality. There was nothing wrong at all...

||XxXx||

"Why is it so fricking cold in here?! I'm freezing!" exclaimed one disoriented brunet boxer. Pulling the huge furry hat on his head tighter and further squashing the disheveled locks peeking out, he tried not to have one of his bones shatter from the cold atmosphere.

Naruto patted him softly with his hand and pulled the jacket closer to his body to warm up more. "Relax, Kiba, it's really not that cold."

The brown haired boxer named Kiba snorted at his old teammate, before he ran to the fireplace when his eyes laid on it. "I can't see why you look so familiar with the cold – you don't even look like a person growing up in the heated areas of Konoha anymore – so spill it. Seriously, man, what's your secret?"

Naruto sweat-dropped at the question and struggled to come up with a plausible answer. Since telling him that he'd been living with a moody ghost for about two whole months – which meant that changes in mood were reciprocated with changes in atmosphere – was clearly out of the question, he sufficed with a simple.

"I have warm blood. It acts as a thermostat for my body temperature, so I don't get affected by the cold as easily."

Kiba gave the blond a hard look and angrily barked. "That's just one huge load of crap!"

Naruto threw one glove at the male who was close to hugging the fireplace and retorted: "Shut it, dog-breath."

"Beats being a ramen-banged-fag like you."

"Goodness, Kiba, that's just nasty! Can't you be a bit more sophisticated and a little less vulgar this early in the morning?" Their respectful captain broke in, showing his form and stretching before the two bickering males.

Naruto smiled cheerfully and bowed in respect. "Good morning, Shika-chan. How was your nap?"

"Stop calling me Shika-chan, it's Shikamaru for goodness' sake, and my repose was fine, as usual. Anyway, why is it this cold? Is the heater broken or something?"

"Hmm... yeah something like that. Someone was sleep-practicing in the middle of the night and punched the master circuit, so he broke the heater. Now we're stuck with this old-assed fireplace, which is barely providing enough heat to reach this far –" to emphasize his point, Kiba moved about twenty centimeters away from the hearth and spat out "As you can see, this is fucking pathetic!"

"Don't tell me, Gaara again?"

"Who else but that fucker does that every time we have to go room in a foreign place that's not his fucking home?!" Kiba released his cold-fuelled frustration out loud.

"Now, now, Kiba; it's not like he's doing it on purpose." Naruto started, defending his long-time friend. "It's something like an illness to him, and he's working on solving it."

"Well, he's not freaking working fast enough! Last time he smashed a door, the time before he dented a fricking sofa, and the time before that he crashed the glassware cabinet! We were forced to pay the damn price for all of them each and every time, and this time around we'll probably be held responsible for the heater! Tell me, Naruto, do you even have the money on you to pay for this?!"

The blond shook his head forlornly and sighed. "...I get your point, but still, he's not doing it because he likes to, and as his teammates and friends all we can do is deal with it and help in controlling him during the night."

Shikamaru inserted himself into the conversation before Kiba went berserk on Naruto; the prospect of explaining why his team lacked boxers and also why his boxers suddenly developed murderous intentions towards each other was not an appealing one. "Naruto, you know that that won't work; remember the last time we decided to hold Gaara down? He broke through easily and soundly pounded your and Kiba's asses, and none of us want a repeat of that disastrous episode."

"Then what do you suggest we do, Shika-chan?"

Choosing to ignore the nickname, the lazy captain answered. "This is just too troublesome, but for now... we'll have him apologize for the broken heater, and pay the owner from his own pocket. So tell me, did he break anything other than that?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not that I know of; it was just the heater."

"Good, he can pay for it now, and then we'll deal with his sleeping-disorder another time. Right now we need to focus on the match this evening... by the way, where's Gaara?"

As if on cue, the redhead walked in from the front door and locked it behind him. He continued on his way inside and blinked at the glare that was given to him from his fellow boxers and their respectful yet sluggish captain, before he asked in a hostile tone:

"What?"

"Don't 'what' me, you fucking asshole!"

Naruto had to hold down Kiba to prevent him from jumping on one of their ace punchers – with them having a match in a few hours; it would be detrimental if they injured each other. "Calm down, Kiba. As for you, Gaara, can you stop punching stuff every fricking night we're forced to sleep out?!"

The redhead continued towards his assigned room and ignored the growls behind him to fucking die in a ditch somewhere, before he gave a curt reply. "I've paid for what I broke and apologized beforehand to the landlord, so as I see it there really isn't anything I should be feeling guilty for – or be cursed about, for that matter."

Naruto maintained a deathly grip on Kiba because he knew that if he didn't, not only would Gaara's body be found in a dump somewhere but Kiba's would be too, since Gaara would drag the other to hell with him. With just two boxers, their chances of winning would be close to none, and the blond was not a keen loser by any means.

Finally, the brunet calmed down enough to yank his hand free from Naruto's grip and walk over to his own room, having had enough of the heat for now. Naruto sighed and absentmindedly blurted.

"Sasuke... water, please."

When there was no water floating to him and no one retorting snidely to his command, the blond blinked and remembered that he was far away from his house and the silent company he was used to. He was just about to fulfill his own request when he was stopped in his tracks.

"Sasuke?"

Startled by the lazy male behind him, he plastered a cheesy smile onto his face and fought down the urge to gulp at his mistake, before he turned around. Rubbing the back of his head, he gave a lousy answer in the form of. "Oh... sorry, I forgot I was away from home for a minute."

"Hmm... it's not that I don't understand –I do it all the time when I'm alone and I call out to my cat, thinking I'm still at home when I'm away– but this is the first time you've done this... who is this Sasuke? Your roommate or something?"

Naruto blinked before answering the questions. "Something like that... but Shika-chan, I didn't know you had a cat!"

Shikamaru nodded and, finding himself a cozy spot near the fireplace to warm his tingling body, he mused aloud. "It was my cousin's, but when she moved away it became attached to me. I tried throwing it away many times, but somehow it always found its way back to me, so I just let it be."

"Well, what's his or her name?"

"Teru's a male... but somehow, I just can't refer to him as anything but 'it'."

"Maybe you're just used to seeing him as an 'it'."

"Perhaps... anyhow, who's this 'Sasuke' you were talking to earlier?"

"Er... He's... umm... I'd have to give a very complicated explanation, but to make things simple I'd describe him as someone akin to an apartment companion..."

"A roommate?"

"Something like that."

"You seem close to him."

At this, Naruto blinked in mild shock. "What makes you say that?"

"The fact that you felt it was normal to ask him for water and expect him to bring it to you –it shows that you're comfortable around, and thus close to, this Sasuke individual."

Naruto's mouth turned into a smile; it was the second time someone had told him he appeared close to Sasuke and, at some level, he felt that to be praise that he could take pride in. Of course, no one besides him was able to see the ghost, and that alone made him feel privileged. Maybe he was being selfish and cruel by thinking this way, but having such an understanding, cute, cool and – to some degree – handsome person... er, ghost... to return home to didn't really feel all that bad.

However, an image of a long-haired girl with bright lavender eyes popped up at the thought of something to return home to, and his heart began aching. With a great deal of effort, he shook himself from his thoughts and hurriedly stuttered.

"S-Shika-chan, I'm going out for a long stroll; if something comes up, you can reach me on my cell, alright?"

"I don't really mind, but make sure you keep yourself safe and stay nearby, okay? It's a foreign land, and a snowy one on top of that, so don't do anything that would endanger yourself. Be sure to get back in time for our evening match, as well."

"Alright! I'll be back soon."

Naruto put on his sports shoes and exited the door, leaving his captain alone in the room. Shikamaru quickly fixed himself some oolong tea and brought a chair to the fireplace, before he began sipping the hot beverage with ease. As he drank, he thought up strategies that would enable each member of his team to be able to make use of their natural abilities and win the matches assigned to them.

After a while of deep thinking, he rubbed the back of his head and muttered "...Ah, this is too fricking troublesome."

||XxXx||

Sakura unlocked the apartment with the spare key Naruto had left for her and peeked inside. It had been three days since the blond had informed her to check up on his apartment – he'd be gone for a week, he said, and he was afraid it would get dusty by the time he returned – so he entrusted it to her. As she walked inside, though, she couldn't stop her eyes from blinking in amazement.

The apartment was sparkling clean.

The question of who had cleaned the fresh-smelling apartment to that extent meandered through her head as she closed the door behind her and continued inside. There was no dirt on the tables, chairs or any other neatly-arranged items of furniture and the floor was highly polished, as if someone had just wiped it clean with timber flooring wax. Surely, Naruto would've left the apartment in a mess –that what she's assumed at the beginning, in any case– and even if he'd cleaned it, it wouldn't have stayed that way after three whole days.

"Even if everything was shut tight, some dirt should've been carried in by the wind and gone through the small slits in the windows." She reasoned with herself.

Then the words of Naruto about the invisible roommate who was living with him had her blinking yet again, this time in disbelief. "It's not possible, Sakura, pull yourself together. Surely there's a perfectly scientific explanation for all of this. You're not childish enough to believe in unrealistic things such as ghosts, like that baka Naruto."

Despite her disbelieving words, a part of her was still unnerved; as soon as she'd finished talking, the apartment abruptly dropped in temperature. Sakura frowned at herself, trying to recall if the atmosphere was really all that cold to begin with or had it just gotten colder but, having no one to second her, she chose to trust her own facts and she reinvigorated herself with a stern:

"Sakura, stop being foolish, ghosts don't exist."

She reminded herself again and, with firm steps, she dispelled her doubts and walked over the phone to call her blond friend, so she could find out exactly what was going on. She was sure he was pulling some type of trick on her – a trick to make her believe in his words and in the invisible roommate he'd magically attained – and she wasn't dumb enough to fall for something like that.

Getting to the phone, and dialing the number Naruto gave her for emergencies, Sakura waited until the line was hooked. "Hello, Iwaki's residence? I'd like to speak with Uzumaki Naruto, please. He's staying in room twenty seven...yes, the boxing team. Hmmm...okay, I'll hold." After about five minutes, the cheerful voice of her blond friend resonated over the phone. "Baka-ruto! What kind of stupid joke are you playing with me here?!... What do you mean 'what stupid joke?'! This stupid joke that I want to smash your head in for! You told me to come clean your house, and when I do it's squeaky clean! There's no shit to clean here, literally! ...look, did you hire someone to come clean your house before I came, just to prank me or something? Because, Uzumaki, I hate being played around with, and if this is your idea of fun then you're so going to die...!" Sakura listened patiently to the laughter from the other side and again, when the stupid old crap about his imaginary roommate came to her ears, she hissed back. "I told you to stop with this absurd belief already, Naruto! There's no such thing as ghosts, they don't exist! And when did you get the money to buy and install an AC? It's fucking freezing in here...!"

The next words that followed went unheard as Sakura swiftly release her hold on the phone upon feeling something tap her shoulder from behind. When she'd slowly turned around, she came face to face with transparent skin, dark soulless eyes, and sparkling golden-blue particles shimmering in a thick haze around that transparent skin. Just as she was about to do something, anything, to break the illusion, the thing opposite her maliciously smirked and said.

"Boo."

And that was the last thing Haruno Sakura heard and saw right before she thudded loudly to the ground and passed into the unconscious world of oblivion.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the echoes vibrating from the phone and picked up the line. He felt his body give off a strange emotion as the voice of the human imprisoning him resonated in his ears, and struggled to contain it in. Biting his deadly cold lips, he answered with delicate ease:

"Stop shouting already; your little scaredy-cat of a friend is fast asleep... all I did was teach her a little lesson, much like I did with your redhead friend. She was waltzing around saying shit like 'ghost don't exist, I don't believe in ghosts', and all I did was expand her narrow horizon a bit." As he said this, he allowed satisfaction to creep into his voice, and he waited for it to be acknowledged by the faraway male before he continued. "Well... it depends, if she's as interesting as you, I'd let her go, but if she's not, then I'll devour her just like I did with the previous ones... the contract with you? Well, you're forgetting something very important. That was a contract with you. It doesn't involve anyone else but you. I can't harm you, but your fucking contract doesn't cover her. I warned you about your trespassing friends beforehand, so I have the absolute freedom to do with her as I wish...!"

Sasuke continued his little bickering with Naruto over the line, and swirling his index finger, he directed Sakura's limp body towards one of the free rooms on the immense apartment. He allowed her to rest on the bed, rather than the floor he'd taken precious time to polish this early in the morning; after all, he didn't waste all that time just to have her stinking body with that awful perfume dirty it mere moments later.

"Hmm... A game? That sounds interesting. What type of games?... Hn. And what makes you think I'd agree to release her if you got here in an hour's time?...well, saying it's close to impossible for you doesn't really mean anything to me...how about we raise the bar a little then? If you reach here within an hour, and agree to meet with this Hinata person you seem to loath so much, then I'll think about releasing her..."

The raven snickered in the line as he awaited the other's answer. The courage the other was showing when he tried to prop him with a time-game backfired on him, now that he'd been requested something that was beyond his mental capability. If what he'd read from their last conversation – when Naruto was getting ready to depart – was anything to go by, this love he was inquiring about was related to the phone number on the paper he'd confiscated from the girl who wrote it. There was also a high chance that the name that he'd heard when his hostage, the Sakura person, came forcing his human warden to go and meet the Hinata person was also related to this incident.

And apparently, that was something that brought him pain.

Sasuke's smirk widened at this single terrible thought. Pain. That was what he wanted the other to feel right now. Pain hard enough to make him wish for death; pain and despair mixed with the utter feeling of loss. And then...and then... he'd finally be able to understand what it was like to be completely void.

Finally, there was an answer on the line floating close to his ears, and with a malevolent smile that turned the whole of the apartment icy cold, the ghost mock-solemnly announced: "Very well. I'll be waiting for you, Uzumaki Naruto. Your time... starts now."