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Chapter List
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Part 3

Your Brightest Voice

All argument is against it; but all belief is for it.
On ghosts, in James
Boswell �The Life of Samuel Johnson�

Itachi and Obito sat side by side at the kitchen table,
looking up expectantly at Sasuke as he stood behind a chair meant to help to
keep him as far away as possible from his relatives. Though
Kakashi skulked around the open doors, I considered myself invited so I sat in
one of the free chairs at the side of the table. It gave me a perfect view of
what was going on.

�A what?�
Obito asked after glancing sideways at Itachi, who was just staring at his
brother without any reaction.

Sasuke�s fingernails scraped audibly against the wooden
backseat of the chair. �Ghost, I said. You know, like Casper.�

�Casper,
the friendly ghost?� I chipped in.

Sasuke gave a one shoulder shrug in response. �I don�t know
about friendly. He doesn�t really talk.�

When I opened my mouth to ask if the ghost was doing
something, Obito beat me to it as he made a pained face. �Sasuke�
I don�t know. A ghost?�

Obito made it very clear using just those words and a
certain tone of voice that he didn�t believe in ghosts either. However,
Sasuke�s nails scraped the wood stronger. He wasn�t taking it nearly as well as
when I acted like I didn�t believe him.

There was no response, so Obito said. �I don�t like it.�

Sasuke cast a glance somewhere over my shoulder and frowned.
I wondered if that was where his ghost stood right then,
standing behind me? The thought made me want to turn around very badly but,
instead, I moved my chair so I could see
the spot with the corner of my eyes. There was, of course, nothing there.

�I think we all know what this means.� Itachi finally spoke.
I didn�t know what it means, and I
was about to point that out, but Itachi turned to me. �Could you leave the
room, Naruto? This is family business.�

I couldn�t as well say �no�. I wasn�t a part of the family,
but I still couldn�t resist taking another careful look at Sasuke while I stood.
He had his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans, looking sullenly at
the table surface. With nothing else to do, I walked out of the kitchen and
closed the door behind me.

Kakashi was standing just outside the open front door,
watching the hard rain fall from the first step. I went to him.

�Don�t be so disappointed.� Kakashi said after talking one
look at my face. �Itachi is just trying to protect his family.�

�It�s not fair.� I complained. I wasn�t surprised that he
had apparently heard everything. �Obito will tell you
first chance he gets and then all of you guys will know except me.�

Kakashi made a little humming noise. It generally meant he
knew something I didn�t. In this case, it meant he already knew what was going
on.

�What?� I demanded. �You know it, don�t you? Tell me.�

But he didn�t tell me, not right then, no matter how many
times I asked.

Sasuke locked himself in his room after the kitchen
conversation ended. It seemed very odd to me, with him seeing a ghost
everywhere he went. Ghosts are creepy. If they weren�t, they
wouldn�t be a big deal. If something transparent and silent followed me around,
I would at the very least try to be constantly in someone�s company, human
company. Sasuke preferred to be alone with his ghost.

I kept imagining him, laying alone
on his bed, staring at his ghost in some corner. It made me so sad. That must
be horrible. The closest place I could be to Sasuke, aside from sitting in
front of his door, was in my room, so that was where I spent many hours that
day.

That evening, Kakashi knocked on my door and walked inside
without an invitation. I was in the armchair, consciously mimicking the way
Sasuke was sitting last night.

�I have to talk to you.� Kakashi said as an introduction.

I started to panic. �We�re not going home, right? Please tell
me we�re not.�

He was shaking his head no before I even finished, but that
didn�t help much. He was too serious, even for the situation.

�What we talked about earlier�� It took me a moment to
remember. He was talking about that thing everyone knew but
me. �Have you ever heard that mental illnesses are something that
runs in families?�

I nodded, carefully trying not to bring out the wrong
conclusions.

�Fugaku � Obito�s late brother - had spent several years in
a mental hospital before he killed himself.� Kakashi told me in soft voice.
�They are afraid that something similar could happen to Sasuke.�

That made me sad and very sorry. The way Sasuke was acting,
the ways he reacted and tried to deal with things, I could see the reason for it
now. No wonder he wasn�t telling anyone what was wrong.

�Was he seeing ghosts, too?� I asked, referring to Fugaku.
Obito had mentioned his older brother, Itachi�s and Sasuke�s father, a few times before. But it was always some childhood
stories, theirs or Itachi�s and Sasuke�s, but nothing related to his death.

�No. He attacked Obito with a knife. It happened once, but
he insisted he was insane and committed himself to the hospital so he wouldn�t
do anything like that again. It happened in this house, which is why they hadn�t
been coming here. � Kakashi answered. �You can see why they are afraid.�

Yeah, could see why they were scared. I could understand
why something like teenage rebellion or a heavy case of insomnia would be taken
so seriously in this family. I finally understood why Sasuke was
so desperate not to tell anyone what was wrong and why was he so sure he was
crazy.

I mean, if a ghost showed itself to me, I would, well,
probably freak out at first. But then I would try to find out if there was a
person like the one I was seeing and what happened to them. I�d rather believe
that ghosts existed - many people already did anyway - than Find
out that I was the one who had something wrong with him.

�So, what now?� I asked.

Kakashi hesitated, which had always made me nervous.
Combined with his concerned frown, I knew there was more bad news on the way.

�You know that they are considerably wealthy.� Kakashi said.
I wondered what that had to do with anything.
�Mental instability in the family is not something that would reflect well on
business, especially because this would be the second generation of it.�

�What? So they won�t do anything? Or, what - lock him up in
the attic?� I demanded. Fuck business, was Itachi that much of a freak? Who
cares about that, his brother wasn�t well!

�Of course they will try to help him.� Kakashi said sharply,
giving me a look that assured me that he wouldn�t let anything else happen,
even if the Uchihas were all collectively so senseless. That calmed me down a
little. �But it will have to be discreet.�

�So? Are you saying I can�t talk about it to other people? Because I wasn�t planning on doing that anyway.�

Kakashi gave me a little smile.

�I have no doubt about your discretion.� Well, of course, he
shouldn�t have any doubts. He knows me better then that. �But this will take
some professional help as well.�

I waited, even though Kakashi stopped. I had no idea what
was he aiming for.

�It would be better if the doctor is someone reliable. �Someone who would be willing
to come here so Sasuke wouldn�t be seen around a public office.� Kakashi
explained. �Psychiatrists don�t do house calls often.��

I was still puzzled. Why was all that important, especially
to me? I had to go on therapy sessions after my parents died and Kakashi took
me in. I was twelve and sure that I was doing well. �Not crying, not even
mentioning my parents and the accident.�
But my teachers at school and Kakashi had different ideas. I changed
several doctors but, aside from the first one, it wasn�t all that bad - you
just talk about whatever comes to mind and they call it progress.

�I know you dislike him, Naruto.� Kakashi cut through my
thoughts. �But he is the only psychiatrist any of us know personally, and
getting his number from Jiraiya is easy.�

My eyes widened fearfully with the thought that my
hunch would be correct. �Orochimaru?� I
asked, repulsed. It couldn�t be. Kakashi wouldn�t do that, right? �Please tell
me you didn�t call him.�

Kakashi sighed. He wasn�t very clear on my violent dislike
of the man, and that was my fault. It shouldn�t matter. He found me another one when I asked. Couldn�t he find
someone else now?

�Itachi has already made the call. He will be here
tomorrow.�

Apparently not. How much money had Itachi
offered to make the busy private practitioner leave his job and travel to some
fucking neverland? It was probably too late for me to do anything then, but I
couldn�t help but ask: �Did Itachi tell him how old Sasuke is?�

Kakashi whipped me with one of his sharpest looks. �Yes.�

I relaxed slightly, even though that didn�t change much. Yes,
Sasuke was much older then I was when I was seeing Orochimaru. I didn�t want
that fucker anywhere near Sasuke anyway.

But then, Orochimaru was a well known psychiatrist with a
very good reputation. He could actually help. And it�s not like I had proof to show
Itachi and, on top of all that, he was my godfather�s brother. So I decided to
just keep an eye on the old freaky pedophile.

***

Just like Kakashi told me, Orochimaru came the next day. He
was still as greasy looking as ever, in a purple shirt and smile that was just
disgusting. When Kakashi introduced a tired and slouched Sasuke, I just wanted
to go over there and put a physical obstacle between them. Kakashi had his hand
on my shoulder, almost like he was restraining me. I had no idea if I
was that obvious or he just knew me that well.

After Orochimaru met Obito and Itachi, he stopped his freaky
eyes on me.

�Naruto.� He said. I could almost
feel his cold hand on my knee, the memory was that forceful. �You are certainly
a grown-up now.�

�Too bad we can�t be children forever?.� I gritted out. What I actually wanted to say was: Disappointed, you fucking pervert?

Orochimaru smiled sluggishly, widely.

�It�s only natural to grow up.� He answered, undisturbed.
�We get to meet interesting people along the way.�

I was never itching so much to hit someone in my life. God,
I hated him. But Kakashi�s fingers curled into my shoulder so I just turned my
head away from the old snake.

Later Obito found me in the garden. He tried to look as if
he was there by accident but it was very obvious he was looking for me.

�What are you up to?� He asked, after pretending for several
seconds that he was interested in a broken plank on the fence nearby. I
shrugged. �You pretty much left the house as soon as the doctor came and you
missed the lunch.�

I I
hadn�t actually planned to miss my meals because of that guy, it
was an accident. I guess I was just too deep in thought or something.

�I wasn�t hungry.�

Obito raised an eyebrow in disbelief. �You weren�t hungry?
That�s a new one.� When I didn�t answer him, he decided to finally get to the
point. �So, why do you dislike him so much?�

I didn�t want to tell him. It was pointless anyway. Sasuke wasn�t
a kid and, if Orochimaru tried to do something inappropriate, he should be able
to defend himself. Because I was quiet back then, afraid to look weak and not exactly
sure what it all meant, I shouldn�t be talking now.

I shrugged. �I just don�t.�

To his credit, Obito tried to drag the real answer
out of me many times.. I didn�t tell him anything. He
was nice and all, but not really someone I wanted to confide to.
He told me, though, when Sasuke�s first s�ance would
be held so I was grateful he came to look for me.

***

Later that afternoon, we all got out of the house to free
the living room for the therapy section. It was the most logical place, I
guess. I was just happy no one suggested Sasuke�s room. I wouldn�t have
accepted that suggestion.

At first, I pretended to entertain myself. When I couldn�t
restrain myself any longer, I told Kakashi I was going to take a walk. A big
circle was necessary so no one would notice, but I got back as soon as I could.
The window of the room Kakashi and Obito were sharing was open, just as I
expected it to be. Kakashi always had the window open often even in the middle
of the winter.

It was easy to climb over, not high at all. I was trying to
be quiet when I stepped inside, but there was no way to hear anything until I
kneeled next to the door and put my ear on the keyhole.

At first, there was a string of questions about what Sasuke
felt about it all, some about Itachi and Obito and their reaction, yadda,
yadda, yadda. I couldn�t see anything, though. But Sasuke wouldn�t be grunting
yes�s and no�s so calmly if Orochimaru was trying to feel him up, right?

Then the part I was
interested about came.

�Tell me more about the ghost.� Orochimaru inquired. On this
side of the door, when I couldn�t see him, he sounded very professional and
reassuring.

�What about it?� Sasuke protested. �It�s just a
hallucination.�

�That doesn�t mean it�s unimportant.� I was a little
disturbed with myself for agreeing with the bad doctor. �It is possible that
the manifestation is reflecting a real problem you have, something we can deal
with.��

Sasuke was silent for a moment, possibly thinking it
through.

�It�s a boy.� He finally said.

Orochimaru prompted, gently. �A boy?�

�Around thirteen, maybe a little less.�
Sasuke continued. Fucker was really good at his job. �He doesn�t have� I don�t
know what he wants.�

�But you think he wants something?�

Silence for a moment, and then Sasuke said. �I don�t know.
It�s just something Naruto said.�

My heard skipped a couple of beats on the sound of my name.

�Oh?� Orochimaru said, his voice freezing over. I smiled to
myself. It seemed like he disliked me just as much as I disliked him. Good to
know. �What did he say?�

�He said that that is why ghosts are haunting people. Because they want something.�

I couldn�t remember for a moment when I said it. I didn�t
really believe in ghosts, but it made some sense. I remembered later � it was
that night when he told me about the ghost.

�That sounds like Naruto actually believes there is a ghost
haunting you. How do you feel about that?�

�I don�t know.� Sasuke said after some thinking. �Better. Less crazy.�

Those words had me flinch back from the door. He was so
stuck on that insanity shit, and so was everyone else. It must be hard to deal
with. But he was feeling better because I sounded like I believed it was really
a ghost? I made him feel better?

And besides, I thought as I remembered Sasuke�s tired face
from all the sleepless nights, who says it�s not really a ghost? I have a hard
time to believe in something I can�t see or feel, but I saw plenty horror
movies. Ghosts don�t appear to everyone, only some people can see them. And I
was obviously not one of them. Maybe Sasuke is.

If he was going around claiming he is a medium of some sort,
talking to ghosts, I wouldn�t believe him. But he was so sure he was crazy and
having hallucinations. We were writing him off too soon just because his father
was insane.�

I decided to investigate.

I had to take the same wide pathway back, but when I did,
the session wasn�t over yet.� Itachi was
looking into his laptop again, typing something. Kakashi and Obito had
apparently decided to use the time they had outside to tidy up the garden.
Obito was down on his knees, weeding as Kakashi stood nearby, pretending
to ignore his talking lover by reading a book but, in reality, was soaking in
every word..

I took the chair next to Itachi.

�Hey.� I said. It would be better to talk to Obito about it,
but I couldn�t wait. With Itachi, though, I had to be direct. �Was there some
deaths in this house?�

Itachi pierced through my head with his sharp eyes. �What?�

�You know, did anyone die here in the house? Violently?�

Itachi kept looking at me like I was a really odd specimen.
�It�s just a hallucination, Naruto. He doesn�t really see a ghost.��

My first impulse was to want to tell him that he couldn�t know
and that he was a really bad brother. I surprised myself
when I agreed more with the second.

�Well, there is a doctor in there to help with that. I�m
just curious�� Itachi wasn�t buying it, I could tell, so I rolled my eyes.
�Fine, I�m not just curious, I�m
wondering if it is possible he can actually see ghosts. Wouldn�t that be
better?�

Itachi�s� eyes slipped off me and to somewhere behind my
back. It was late afternoon, sunny and bright, Obito was chattering in the
background. Even with that, I was eerily reminded of that night when I found
Itachi in front of Sasuke�s room; he looked behind me with the same glassy eyes
back then too. I couldn�t suppress the shiver that ran down my spine.

�Itachi?� I called him hesitantly.
With what looked like a lot of effort, Itachi met my gaze again. He wasn�t
talking, though. Completely freaked out without any real reason, I stood up.
Orochimaru had the wrong fucking brother in there. This one was in greater need for a sanity check.

I turned, unable to resist looking at where he was staring
earlier in our conversation. There was nothing there, just shadows of the house
and lilac threes over the fence; not that I was expecting to see anything.

�There was a disappearance once.� Itachi said behind me. His
voice sounded forced, like he was talking nails, not words. �A boy disappeared
some fifty years ago from this house. He was never found.�

A boy� I took a deep breath to chase off the unreal
feeling that flooded me, like a river after rain.. A boy? Maybe, just maybe, we were onto something here.�

My voice was slightly shaking when I asked � probably more
from the excitement at that point, than from fear or disbelief �Around
thirteen?�

Itachi nodded, once. �Is that how Sasuke described the
ghost? He didn�t tell me anything.�

Odd that, I thought, when you have writing him off as crazy
at the first word. But I didn�t say anything. �Who was he? Do you know more
about him?�

Itachi was just looking at me for a long moment, and then
his eyes slipped off me again. I shivered, there was no stopping it. Every time
Itachi would do that, it was as if his eyes were drained of life, leaving just
a body, emptiness behind. It lasted longer than the first and the second time,
and I watched, fascinated, as Itachi titled his head, like he was listening to the
wind caressing plants.

�You are stepping over your boundaries.� Itachi finally
answered. His dark, hollow gaze returned to me a moment after. �You are not a
part of the family.�

It hurt. No, I wasn�t family. Not even Kakashi was. That
didn�t mean he can yank me around, it didn�t mean he had to say it like that.

�That doesn�t mean I don�t care.� I grumbled, upset. Maybe
Itachi had an answer in some form, but I didn�t stick around to hear it.

Kakashi wouldn�t like me to dig into something I was
specifically told was none of my business but had no plans of leaving it alone.
�Especially after finding out that there
was a missing boy who matched Sasuke�s ghost. Chances were bigger that Sasuke
was not imagining if he didn�t know about that incident. �Even if he did, it was worth checking. I planned
on cornering Obito, but I needed to think about how to go around things so he
wouldn�t tell anyone. Not only because of Itachi and Kakashi, but �also because wasn�t
sure how Sasuke would react if he found out about me trying to prove him sane.

The garden wasn�t big enough to find a place to be
alone and as far away from Itachi as I wanted to be right then, so I went to
help Obito. Kakashi�s careful eyes on me were
both annoying and welcome. The sensation of someone caring always makes
everything at least a little better.�

***

I didn�t get the chance to talk to Obito that evening at
all. He was busy trying to be a better host than his nephews were. Triying to add Orochimaru into the routine we had created
in the several weeks of staying at the house.

I skipped dinner entirely. I didn�t want to eat at the same
table with Orochimaru, not when I could just go to the kitchen once they finished,
even if Sasuke looked half way back to life because of it. There was some
cartoon playing on the television, so I snuggled into my favorite spot on the
long couch and almost got in the mood to laugh at the cutest parts of it.

I didn�t feel anyone walking around me, but then a plate
with a sandwich on it landed onto my lap. If anyone, I expected Kakashi or
possibly Obito. But neither one would take the remote without asking and change
the channel despite me obviously watching. That was something only Sasuke would
do, so I knew it was him before he sat down next to me.

I put the plate on the coffee table and moved to take the
remote back. He had no right; I was there first, so it was only fair to watch
what I wanted. Sasuke raised it as high as he could on the opposite side, so
all I could do was glare. Trying to grab it from over there would lead us into
a really awkward position.

�What was it?� Sasuke asked when I gave up.

�What was what?�

�What he did to you?�

I wasn�t sure, but I had a pretty good idea who was he
talking about. �Orochimaru?�

Sasuke didn�t confirm, just kept waiting for me to answer
the question. I considered it. He looked a bit better now. He had kidnapped my
remote; even if it wasn�t obvious on his face that would have given me a clue.
And if he was doing fine, and he was too old to be in danger, it didn�t matter.

�He didn�t do anything.� I said.

�You�re lying.�

I wasn�t, not really. I don�t know why, exactly, but that
simple way he stated it made me want to explain. He told me about the ghost,
after all. This wasn�t nearly as big of a deal. I glanced back at the door, to
check on the others. It caught me by surprise that it was closed - they were
always open, including the hallway as one huge room. It was safe to talk,
Sasuke took care of it.

I leaned in and whispered anyway. �He really didn�t do
anything. The problem is that I�m not sure if he would have if I haven�t made a
ruckus and stormed out.�

�When was that?�

�When my parents died. I was
twelve, I � made trouble in school a lot. Kakashi was worried� I fought in school a lot, Kakashi was
probably not just worried about how I�m dealing with everything, but also
because it was just a matter of time when I would run into someone who�d beat
me up. �And my school suggested a therapist. Orochimaru is my godfather�s
brother, so he made an exception, even though I was younger than his usual
clientele.�

He was a specialist for problematic adolescents. ��
� �
�So?� Sasuke asked when I quieted down. �What happened?�

The frustrating part was, I wasn�t
sure if I could explain it. But when I got that far already, I could as well
try. It wasn�t as if Sasuke was the one to mock some irrationality.

�Alright, his office was one of those made to look like
living room, comfortable, you know? And I was being stubborn about answering
him something � I can�t even remember what was it now � so he leaned in, a
little bit to close, and put his hand on my knee. I freaked, knocked down some
lamps and ran out.�

Sasuke was frowning. �That doesn�t sound very professional.�

�Yeah, but he didn�t do
anything.� I insisted. If he had, I would have said something. �But I can�t
help but think he would have, so I don�t like him. Even if that�s not true,�

�It doesn�t sound to me as if you overreacted. He should�ve
had kept his hands to himself.�

There was some anger in that, I was pleased to hear. But
Sasuke disliking his doctor would not help him get better, so I added, �It�s a gesture
I saw millions of times before and after that, and they meant nothing. I was
desperate to get out of there, he was� getting closer, I guess. Thinking about
it now, I might have overreacted, because I was feeling trapped��

�If you thought he was about to molest you then,� Sasuke
interrupted me. �You were probably right.�

Yeah, I agreed with that completely. I remembered it well.
In my mind, there was no doubt he was not just innocently trying to get me to
talk. I�m not good with lying and Sasuke is not good with buying bullshit. I
sighed and gave up. We won�t be here forever; he can find another doctor when
we leave the place.� �

�So.� I said after a moment in
which Sasuke was thinking about something with his eyes narrowed. The traces of
exhaustion on his face were even more visible with the bluish light coming from
the screen. �How did the first session go? Was he helpful? Did he try touching you
inappropriately?�

�No.� Sasuke answered, probably only to the last question.

��No�?�
I demanded. �That�s all I get after telling you all the details about my
unhappy childhood?�

�Yes.� Sasuke said, but he was smirking. Well, maybe I
couldn�t make him smile, but smirking was better than frowning. I�d take what I
could get.

But it was a good opportunity, so I had to ask. �Tell me
more about the ghost, then. Have you asked him what he wants from you yet?�

I was sort of sorry when Sasuke glanced on the side, where
there was nothing but wall. He didn�t do it once since we started talking, but
he could obviously see his ghost there.

�That�s not funny.� Sasuke finally said. He was still
looking over his shoulder to the empty wall, expressionless. It was the truth,
it wasn�t funny. I didn�t think it was funny. But I think that was the moment
when I simply stopped trying and started actually believing he�s seeing a
ghost.

There was not much space between us to begin with, because
of the remote thing, so it took my minimal effort to be so close to whisper.
�Show him to me.�

I�m not sure if I startled him by speaking up so closely or
he didn�t notice me nearing at all, but Sasuke flinched a little. Kneeling on
the couch, inches from where he was sitting on one leg and looking over his
shoulder, I was close enough to feel it. �What?�

I prompted my head on my left arm on the couch�s backseat.
For someone asking to be introduced to a ghost, my heart was weirdly restless
from the realization that Sasuke was not moving away.�

�He�s there, the ghost?� I asked, nodding at the wall he was
watching moments ago. Sasuke�s eyes flickered there before returning to me,
suspicions and narrowed and much closer then I dared to hope they would ever
be. �Tell me where exactly. Tell me how he looks like. Tell me what to look
for.�

�Naruto.� Sasuke said. I loved the
way he was saying my name when he wanted me to pay attention to his opinion on
my intelligence, like it was a sentence on its own. I smiled. �There is nothing
there. It�s just in my head.�

�If it is, then I won�t be able to see it. No reason not to
show me.�

Sasuke wasn�t answering; he just kept staring at me. I
wasn�t sure if those sparks of emotion on his face were really there, or my
imagination. It wasn�t even important, as long as he was looking at me. Once I
passed whatever kind of test that staring was, Sasuke inhaled sharply.

�Fine.� He said,
his voice quiet but not soft. �I�ll show you.�

I smiled again, and used the opportunity to edge closer.
Sasuke was concentrating back on the wall again, I�m not sure if he
noticed.�

�By the oil painting, the one with vase
and dry flowers.� I looked. It was a dark, lifeless painting. Flowers in
the vase were not just dry, they looked like mean thorns from a grotesque old
story. How awfully fitting, I was thinking. �Just under the
right edge of the frame.�

The wall was painted in simple white. I carefully let my
eyes scan over every inch of that piece of it, but there was noting but white
and later, some gray flickering stains dancing around, from the strain.

At some point, Sasuke stopped looking there, and focused on
me. It wasn�t distracting, all I could feel was his wonder. Without turning to
him, I asked: �More.�

�He is young, around twelve, but tall for his age. His hair
is very dark. He�s wearing some thin gray pants and a shirt that is ripped on
many places.� Sasuke paused there shortly, and then gave a little mocking
snort. �I keep thinking he must be cold at night - I can�t��

He cut himself off. Ignoring the little frustrated sound he
was making deep in his throat, I whispered. �You think he might have been cold
when he died?�

�Why are you doing this?� Sasuke asked sharply. �It�s just a
hallucination.�

His attention was completely on me then, so I averted my
eyes from the empty wall. There was nothing there anyway, at least nothing I
could see.

�Because�� I said very softly, thinking about it. We were to
close for comfort already, so when Sasuke leaned in to catch what I was saying,
our noses were almost touching. I could say nothing but the truth, as I
released the air I stole from him. �It�s freaking me out less.�

Sasuke closed his eyes and let his head fall a little
forward. His hair brushed my forehead. �I don�t care anymore, I don�t care if
it�s really a ghost or I�m crazy or there is a summit of little green aliens
doing excitements on me, I just want to get some real sleep.�

I don�t know what gave me the courage. It might have been
that rawness in his voice, the tiredness in his shoulders and that he was not
retreating, even though we were sitting on the couch in the living room where
anyone could have walked in any second. We weren�t doing anything, but it felt
more intimate then anything I�ve experienced before. So I moved my arms,
wrapped him around his back and pulled him closer.

�Sleep, then.� I said into his hair. �I�ll watch
television.�

I�ll stay awake. I�ll pay attention. I�ll take care of you, nothing�s going to hurt you. Any of those would be
truer, but Sasuke was letting his head fall on my shoulder as I leaned. His
body settled easily against mine, but he was still holding onto the backseat of
the couch, fingers curled around the edge of the thick green couch cover.

�He has no eyes, Naruto.� Sasuke murmured. I have no idea if
I froze from his words or his breath on my neck. It was probably both.
�There�re just holes where his eyes should be, and they are always bleeding��

I stiffly waited for more, but nothing came. Sasuke was out,
right there, in the living room, on my shoulder. As happy as I was, it also
made me sad. It wasn�t something you�d expect Sasuke would ever do. How tired, exactly, was he?

I didn�t dare to move. Not even when everyone came into the
room some minutes later and stared down at us with various expressions
flickering on their faces. Kakashi was smiling, but not at us. He was smiling
at Obito who had such a dumbfounded look, like he was certain that Sasuke and I
were different species until that point. Itachi showed no reaction, but
Orochimaru gave me a tight smile that felt dirty, like I was on a photo
shooting for a porn magazine.

I didn�t care. Sasuke was breathing evenly, deeply, fast
asleep, and I don�t think I�d care much if ceiling started falling off above
out heads. He was still holding the remote in one hand, and I had to invest
some patience and a lot of careful work into retreating it, but I managed.
Others were quiet at the back of the room, so I found my cartoons again and
lowered the volume of the television.

That evening, the old country house felt as warm as
comfortable as Kakashi�s and mine apartment for the first time. I think I used the
evening well.

***

Sasuke had fallen asleep around eight, maybe. He wasn�t
moving so I couldn�t move until he flinched at something in his dream and
jerked awake, on a deaf hour early in the morning.

�Wha�?�� He mumbled hoarsely, eyes puffy
and flushed from sleep, his hair
horribly messy. I wasn�t wasting time, I had to stretch. My ass was so numb, I
wouldn�t have been able to find it if I needed to right then. My back gave
several loud cracks that made some of the pain go away but there was plenty
left. Sasuke cleared his voice before he spoke again, but it came out just as
rough. �What time is it?�

�I don�t know. It was midnight about a movie ago.�

We were alone. Obito had offered to wake Sasuke up, saying I
must be uncomfortable. I was beyond uncomfortable, not moving around became
agony long before Obito spoke, but I didn�t let him. After that, they all left
to their respective rooms.

�That�s�� Sasuke said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He
retreated back, kneeling up on the couch. My legs were still spread, so there
was some contact between us. �That�s almost six hours.�

�Yeah.�

And I felt every minute of them in every bone I had in my
body. I stretched again, letting my back bend over the edge of the armrest,
arms high above my head. It felt absolutely brilliant, an instant heaven. I
grinned up at Sasuke, who had a very unattractive open-mouthed expression on
his face. Okay, I�m lying. He was hot as fuck, despite everything.� �You sleep like a log.�

Sasuke shook his head, more
disbelief than denial.

�Really.� I assured him. �Like a
table leg. You weren�t moving at all, I had to ask for a mirror to check if
you�re still��

Breathing, the
ending was. I never managed to finish.�
The word came out as nothing but deep startled inhalation as Sasuke
moved in that endlessly smooth way of his, leaned back in, over me, supporting
himself on his arms on both sides of my head. Even unprepared for it, I let him
kiss me on instinct, without a thought. And if that unapologetic way he dug his
fingers into the back of my neck, forcing me out of shock to respond properly
was his way of showing gratitude, I�d let him sleep on me every day.

The fierceness somewhat softened once I responded. Sasuke
straddled me, only to break the kiss, and said, �You stink.�

I automatically hit his shoulder, not too lightly, and shot
back. �Your breath is horrible.�

�And I�m not much better.� Sasuke continued, ignoring my input
completely, and pushed himself up to stand. �Upstairs is probably a better
place for this, anyway.�

Well he had a point there, so I took the hand he offered to
help me up. Upstairs had a bathroom.� It
also had two free rooms, both with a rather large bed in it.

Sasuke didn�t let go as soon as I was up. He was still
holding my hand � maybe a little bit too tightly � before his eyes met mine,
light mirth and some confusion on his face. �He�s gone.�

Even distracted as I was, it only took a moment to realize
he was talking about the ghost. Maybe it meant something, maybe not, but I gave
him a really happy grin and yanked him to follow me out of the living room.
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Heritage