Chapter Text
Sasuke heard his teammates’ voices long before their faces came into view.
Soon enough, he spotted Naruto and Sakura deep in discussion. Curiosity stirred within him when he noticed Sakura’s face turn pale, her green eyes widening as the corners of her lips trembled. She was clearly frightened, and he found himself wondering what could have shaken her so badly.
Like the pink-haired kunoichi, Naruto looked frightened. Sweat dotted his forehead as he struggled to put on a brave face. He gently patted her shoulder, trying to comfort her with a clearly forced smile.
Now, Sasuke was truly intrigued. In his experience, Naruto had never been afraid of anything. In fact, his bravery was so reckless that it sometimes bordered on suicidal. Whatever they were discussing had to be something serious.
It could be a new mission—a real one, the kind that promised adventure and sent adrenaline rushing through his veins, not those boring D-ranked missions that had them running around the village chasing stray cats like a bunch of idiots.
“What's going on here?” Sasuke asked as he approached his two teammates. Despite the calm façade, he was on cloud nine inside. Finally, a chance to prove to his father that he was just as capable as his brother!
“Oh, Sasuke-kun!” Sakura squealed. She rushed to his side and looped an arm around his, oblivious to the irritated look on Naruto’s face as he watched his crush practically throw herself at his teammate.
Equally irritated, Sasuke gently removed his arm from hers, ignoring the disappointed look on her face. He then turned to Naruto, barely able to contain his excitement. “Do we have a new mission?”
“Yes, we do,” Naruto confirmed.
In an instant, his usual boisterous self returned. He planted his hands on his hips, puffed out his chest, and his blue eyes sparkled with excitement. “A very important one—one that could get our names written into ninja history.”
“What is it? Tell me,” Sasuke urged, his heart thumping wildly in his chest with anticipation. Could it be a rescue mission? Or maybe a mission to hunt down an S-ranked criminal? God, he couldn’t wait.
Naruto took a deep breath, likely trying to build suspense. However, the serious expression he wore sat awkwardly against his usual idiotic demeanor, only serving to annoy Sasuke further. Sasuke swore that if he didn’t speak right now, he would personally strangle him and force every word out of him.
Even Sakura looked nervous. She stayed silent, waiting for Naruto to speak—a rare occurrence. She usually beat him to make him shut up. Her hands were clasped tightly in front of her chest, her green eyes fixed on Naruto, though the excitement and eagerness shimmering in them mirrored his own.
“We’re going to…” Naruto began, glancing at his teammates as if checking whether they were ready for what he was about to say. “Ghost-hunting.”
Sasuke could feel his own face fall. Excitement and anticipation vanished instantly, leaving him standing there like an idiot, and he genuinely felt like one.
“What the hell?” He almost shouted at Naruto. “Are you kidding me?”
“It’s true, Sasuke,” Naruto insisted. “There’s a ghost in training ground 13. She appears every night.”
“To hell with your ghost,” Sasuke yelled. “I’m leaving.”
Naruto quickly darted ahead, blocking his path. “You have to listen to me.”
“I’m not listening to an idiot,” he grumbled.
“The whole village is talking about it,” Naruto continued, completely unfazed by his friend’s irritation.
“The whole village? You mean you and your group of idiots who are dumb enough to believe ghosts are real?” Sasuke sneered, shoving Naruto aside as he tried to walk past.
“Chouji saw it himself last night.” A shiver ran down his spine as he recalled what his chubby friend had told him earlier this morning. “He was walking past training ground 13 when he suddenly heard rustling in the bushes. When he looked closer, he saw a shadowy figure behind a tree, apparently a girl, or maybe a woman, I don’t know. And when she turned around, her eyes were completely white. Even worse, her hands were dripping with blood. Chouji was so scared he almost pissed himself.”
“Bullshit,” Sasuke scoffed. “He probably imagined it during a food coma. And the same thing will happen to you if you keep stuffing yourself with ramen every day.”
“He’s telling the truth, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura finally said, breaking the longest silence she had ever managed to keep. “I saw her myself.”
When her two friends looked at her expectantly, she exhaled deeply, as though steadying her shaking nerves. “Or rather, I heard her. I was passing by training ground 13 a few days ago when I heard someone crying. I first thought it was a lost child and wanted to help them, but when I got closer, there was no one there. I didn’t think much of it until Chouji told Naruto about the ghost. It must have been her... I must have heard her crying that day.”
“That’s why we have to catch her!” Naruto exclaimed, throwing a fist into the air. “I’ve already formed a ghost-hunting team with team 10, and we’re going to catch her tonight. You have to join us, Sasuke.”
“I don’t have time for such idiocy,” Sasuke said, trying to walk past Naruto again.
“Sasuke, no one in ninja history has ever caught a ghost. We’re gonna be the first.”
“That’s because ghosts aren’t real.”
“Please, Sasuke,” Sakura pleaded, once again looping her arm around his. She looked up at him with wide, innocent green eyes as though that alone could change his mind.
To be honest, she didn’t really care about the ghost. She just wanted to spend time with her crush. And if she got lucky, he might even become her knight in shining armor, saving her from a wicked ghost. Just imagining the scene got her blushing like a ripe tomato.
“I’ll pass.” And that was final.
Sasuke quickened his pace, eager to get away from his teammates as quickly as possible, ignoring their voices calling after him.
If they had time to hunt for a ghost that didn’t even exist, why not spend that time training and improving their skills as shinobi? Half of his problems would disappear if Naruto and Sakura stopped annoying him over every little thing. And to think he had even fooled himself into believing that he had finally gotten a real mission! Had their stupidity started rubbing off on him?
A shiver ran down his spine at the thought. No. It couldn’t be. He couldn’t let that happen. The thought of becoming like Naruto terrified him more than anything.
With a shaking breath, he hurried home. Luckily, he still had his genius brother—someone he could always rely on. Itachi would be home today after a month-long mission, and he couldn’t wait to spend time with him.
Sasuke’s kunai landed an inch away from the bull’s-eye. With a frustrated sigh, he pulled it free, walked back to his spot, and threw it at the target again. This time, it struck the center perfectly, though that fact still failed to bring a smile to his face. He was no longer a six-year-old child; landing a kunai in the bull’s-eye was no longer enough to impress anyone, let alone his father.
He only expected the best from his sons.
“When can you start teaching me advanced genjutsu?” Sasuke asked, his expression tightening. “I’m sick of throwing kunai. It’s one of the most basic skills—even the Academy kids can do it.”
“Don’t underestimate such a skill,” Itachi said calmly. “Wielding weapons is crucial for a ninja.”
“I’m not saying it’s not important,” Sasuke pouted. “But as a Uchiha, I’m supposed to be a genjutsu master, and all I can do right now is a simple genjutsu to hide my presence. And it doesn’t even require the Sharingan.”
“You’re still young, Sasuke.”
“You already mastered advanced genjutsu when you were seven.”
“It’s not a competition,” Itachi sighed. “Everyone has their own pace.”
Sasuke’s competitive nature was clearly inherited from their father. He had heard that Fugaku was the best shinobi of his generation, and he expected no less from his sons. The pressure drove Sasuke to strive to be better, but it could also cause a great deal of stress that no twelve-year-old should endure.
Itachi couldn’t remember the last time his little brother had genuinely smiled. The bright smile Sasuke used to greet him with whenever he returned from a mission gradually became a rare sight. Though the excitement in his eyes never faded, Itachi wished he could see his little brother smile more often. He had sacrificed his childhood in the hope of giving Sasuke a carefree one, but apparently, he had chosen not to accept it.
That didn’t stop Itachi from trying, though.
“Why don’t you spend some time with your teammates?” he suggested. “And I mean outside of missions and training.”
“I don’t want to,” Sasuke said. “They only do stupid stuff I want no part in.”
“Such as?” Itachi prodded.
“They’re ghost hunting tonight,” Sasuke replied with a scoff. “As if such things even exist.”
“Naruto and Sakura?” Itachi asked. He didn’t think Kakashi would join something like that, though the man could be peculiar at times.
Sasuke nodded. “With team 10. Chouji said he saw the ghost himself. What an idiot.”
“You know, Sasuke,” Itachi began, his tone suddenly turning serious in a way that immediately captured Sasuke’s attention. “A great ninja isn’t only skilled at fighting. He must also be good at networking—in other words, politics.”
“What do you mean?” Sasuke asked in awe, earning a soft chuckle from Itachi.
“A strong clan isn’t built on ninja skills alone, but also on relationships with other clans. The members of Team 10—Nara, Akamichi, and Yamanaka—come from some of the most prestigious clans in Konoha. A good relationship with them would be very beneficial to our clan.”
“If that means joining a stupid ghost hunt, I don’t want it.”
“That’s the issue, Sasuke,” Itachi gently chided. “Not everything will go your way. And as a shinobi, you can’t act based on emotions alone. Do you think the Hokage actually enjoys those social dinners with nobles and wealthy merchants? No. But he attends them because those people fund much of Konoha’s infrastructure and economy.”
“That’s too much,” Sasuke muttered.
He couldn’t stomach the idea of tiptoeing around people and showering them with fake compliments just to gain something from them. No, he would probably end up offending them by saying what he truly thought. Maybe that was what made Itachi so exceptional compared to him. He was diplomatic. He knew how to act around people and get them on his good side, while Sasuke only knew how to fight with his fists.
“I’m not saying you have to play politics with your friends,” Itachi said. “But you have to socialize more. Go out there and make friends. Better yet, get to know their parents, too. They're all current leaders of some of Konoha's most prestigious clans.”
Sasuke remained silent long after Itachi had left to prepare for his next mission. He couldn't deny the truth in his brother’s words, having attended some of those social dinners himself. He remembered how his mother had picked out their most expensive formal clothes for the occasion, while his father had warned them to be polite to everyone and not to embarrass the family. Sasuke hadn’t understood it back then, but after his conversation with Itachi, he finally did.
And that was why he was standing at Training Ground 13, trying very hard not to frown.
“Sasuke-kun!” Sakura and Ino squealed in unison.
Each of them latched onto one of his arms, their eyes practically turning into hearts, completely oblivious—or rather, deliberately ignoring—his irritated huff.
“Sasuke-kun, if the ghost tries to hurt me, you’ll protect me, right?” Ino asked dramatically. “I’m just a weak, vulnerable girl.”
“Quit it, Ino-pig!” Sakura snapped. “He’ll save me first.”
“Right, because your forehead is so huge the ghost will spot you first.”
Sakura’s face instantly turned red, and the usual bickering began, along with their endless insults.
Their voices grated on his nerves, giving him a pounding headache, and he was already starting to regret his decision to come. Maybe he was never meant for politics after all.
“What a drag,” Shikamaru muttered.
For once, Sasuke agreed with him. He was fairly certain the Nara boy had been dragged here against his will.
“Ino just has a lot of energy. She has to let it out,” Chouji said while stuffing his face with chips. “I heard ghosts feed on people’s energy.”
“Alright, guys,” Naruto said, clapping his hands together. Once he had everyone’s attention, he continued. “I’m sure we all know why we’re here.”
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again to look at his friends, determination blazing in his blue eyes.
“To catch a ghost and save our village from its curse!”
“Hold on!” Shikamaru held up a hand. “What curse?”
“Err… I don’t know,” Naruto faltered. “Isn’t that what they usually do in movies? They curse people to hurt them.”
“Has anyone said the ghost hurt them?” Shikamaru pressed.
“Err… No, but—”
“O-Or they aren’t a-alive anymore to tell us,” Ino said in a trembling voice, her shoulders shaking.
“Or it’s just a hoax, and we should all just go home,” Shikamaru said lazily. “Chouji must have imagined it during his food coma.”
Sasuke couldn’t agree more. That was exactly what he had said earlier that day. At least one of them still had some common sense.
“If the ghost isn’t real, then what is this?” Naruto pointed at a nearby trunk, and the group moved closer to see what he was pointing to.
The boys gasped audibly, while all the color drained from the girls’ faces. The trunk was splintered with bloody handprints smeared across its surface.
“S-She’s real,” Sakura whispered, her voice quivering. “I heard her crying the other day.”
“If she’s crying, she must be a sad ghost,” Ino said.
“What’s a sad ghost?” Shikamaru asked, still unconvinced. Those handprints could belong to anyone.
“A person died with a grudge so deep that they couldn’t rest in peace. That’s why they turn into ghosts and come back to the living world to cause despair for those who wronged them.”
“How do you know so much about ghosts?” Chouji asked curiously.
“That’s just common knowledge,” Ino shrugged.
“Sad or not, we’ll catch her,” Naruto declared. “As the future Hokage, I can’t let her hurt anyone in the village.”
“Sasuke-kun, I’m so scared.” Sakura buried her face in his chest before looking up at him with tear-brimmed eyes. “You’ll protect me, ri—”
“Forehead, stop taking advantage of him,” Ino shouted, pulling her away from her crush.
“Stop being a hypocrite,” Sakura scoffed. “You were the first to throw yourself at him.”
In the end, they settled behind a bush, peering out at the trunk marked with bloody handprints. Sasuke sat in the middle, with Sakura on one side of him and Ino on the other. Naruto positioned himself beside Sakura, while Shikamaru yawned next to Ino, and Chouji sat beside him.
They waited in silence, no one making a sound, until Sasuke decided to strike up small talk with Shikamaru, even if it meant talking over Ino. He wasn’t here to catch a ghost, after all.
“So…” he began. “I heard your clan, the Nara, produces some of the best strategists the village has ever seen. Most of them serve the Hokage’s advisors.”
“That’s right,” Shikamaru confirmed, mildly surprised that Sasuke was talking to him. The boy rarely spoke at all, let alone to him. Even now, he couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Sasuke had actually agreed to join this ghost-hunting mission. “My father is the Jonin Commander.”
“The Naras are natural geniuses,” Ino praised. “Shikamaru could easily be in the top three of our class if he wanted. Unfortunately, he prefers sleeping over making his parents proud.”
That would have been offensive if not for her playful tone.
“He always says it’s too troublesome,” Chouji added while munching on his chips.
“It is,” Shikamaru sighed. “The better you are at something, the more responsibilities you get. My father barely sleeps these days.”
“Hey, that’s how you serve your village,” Ino snapped.
“That’s why I said it’s troublesome,” he replied, before turning his gaze to Sasuke. “Why the sudden interest in my clan?”
“Just asking,” Sasuke shrugged. “I want to know more about the clans my family socializes with.”
“My father is the head of the Intelligence Division,” Ino said proudly. “And Chouji’s father is the head of the Akamichi clan, which serves as the village’s frontline defense. Together, they’re called the Shika-Ino-Chou trio. Our fathers are legendary.”
Sasuke couldn’t say he wasn’t impressed—yet another reminder that Itachi was always right. He used to think his classmates were just a bunch of idiots, but it turned out they came from some of the most prestigious clans in Konoha. Getting to know them would be beneficial, even if he still thought the whole thing sounded troublesome.
Sasuke vaguely registered that he was starting to sound like Shikamaru and frowned. At least, Shikamaru was sensible.
“Yeah, but compared to the Hyuga, we’re practically nothing,” Shikamaru said.
“Their Gentle Fist technique is one of Konoha’s deadliest fighting styles,” Ino said, shivering slightly. “One touch and you’re done for.”
“And nothing can get past them because their eyes see everything,” Chouji added.
“The only clan that comes close to them is yours, Sasuke,” Shikamaru said.
“I heard they’re allies?” Ino asked. “Fugaku-san seems close to Hiashi-san. I saw them with my father and Shikamaru’s the other day. What do you think, Sasuke-kun?”
“I don’t know,” Sasuke admitted. “My father never talked to me about other clans.”
“Really?” Ino gasped. “My father made me memorize every clan in the village when I was six.”
Maybe that was what Father had made Itachi do, too, Sasuke begrudgingly thought. He was the future clan head, after all.
“Hey, could we talk about something I can actually contribute to?” Sakura pleaded. Coming from an ordinary family, she had nothing to add when the topic was clans.
“Heh, of course you have nothing to say,” Ino smirked.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Sakura snapped. “You’re just bitter because I get to be on Sasuke-kun's team.”
“And yet you couldn’t have a date with him, so what’s your excuse?” Ino sneered.
“Can I go on a date with you instead?” Naruto asked innocently.
“In your dreams,” Sakura scoffed, smacking him on the head with her fist, looking satisfied when the boy yelped in pain.
“Yeah, maybe in your dreams she’d actually be pretty,” Ino snickered.
“Ino-pig!” Sakura shouted, ready to throw hands with the blonde girl, though Ino seemed completely unfazed.
The whole thing was chaotic. Even though Sasuke had prepared himself for it, it still grated on his nerves. If they didn’t stop it soon, he was going to snap.
“Guys, someone is coming,” Naruto whispered, and the group went completely silent. Six pairs of eyes followed his finger toward the trunk covered in bloody handprints.
A shadowy figure approached the tree and leaned against it with a weary huff. They couldn’t make out what or who it was, but it seemed to be a girl.
“Ghosts are usually female,” Ino whispered in a shaking voice. “While demons or evil spirits are usually male.”
Sasuke noticed Shikamaru roll his eyes at her. Frankly, he couldn’t blame him.
The figure had her back turned toward them and her head bowed low. A few silent moments passed before her shoulders began to tremble, and soft, muffled sobs echoed through the training ground.
“That’s the crying I heard the other day,” Sakura confirmed.
“Then it has to be her—the ghost terrorizing Konoha,” Naruto declared. “We have to catch her.”
“Wait, Naruto,” Sasuke warned.
The blond boy barely registered the words before he abruptly shot to his feet. The bush they were hiding behind rustled from his sudden movement, startling the ghost—or whatever she was. Did ghosts even get startled? Naruto, however, was far too dense to question it.
The ghost turned toward them, darkness shrouding most of her face. She slowly raised a hand—tightly wrapped in bloodstained bandages—to her mouth, earning a sharp gasp from the two girls. The bloody handprints on the trunk were definitely hers.
She tilted her head, as though to get a better look at them. The movement revealed part of her face. Even though it was only a glimpse, they could still make out the blood smeared across her cheeks and lips. Her eyes were white with no irises, staring at them as she began taking slow, silent steps toward them.
She was obviously just a normal person. Sasuke was about to tell Naruto just that, but paused when he saw his teammate had completely gone rigid. Sweat beaded his forehead as he stared at the ghost, his hand shaking at his sides. All his determination to catch a ghost had vanished, leaving behind nothing but a trembling mess.
Sasuke smirked, wondering whether Naruto was about to piss himself. If he did, he would mock him for it for the rest of his life.
“Sakura-chan, I’m gonna protect you,” Naruto screamed before suddenly grabbing Sakura, throwing her over his shoulder, and taking off running.
He glanced back over his shoulder at the group, who were staring at him incredulously, and yelled. “RUN! SAVE YOURSELF!”
“Put me down, you idiot!” Sakura demanded, struggling to break free. “We can’t leave Sasuke-kun.”
“He can save himself, Sakura-chan!”
“What?” Before Sasuke could process what was happening, Ino grabbed his wrist and pulled him to his feet.
“Mission abandoned! We have to run!” she screamed. “Sasuke-kun, I’m not leaving you like Forehead did.”
“Are you kidding me?” Shikamaru asked incredulously. “Don’t you see she’s just—”
“No one is gonna hurt my friends.” It was the first time Sasuke had heard Chouji raise his voice. The boy was usually lenient, only getting angry when someone called him fat. But today, Sasuke realized that his friends were the one line he would not tolerate crossing.
Before Shikamaru or Sasuke could say anything, Chouji grabbed Ino and Shikamaru, tucking them under his arms as he bolted for his life.
Only Sasuke was left in the training ground, still struggling to process what had just happened.
Ironically, now that the ghost was close enough for him to see clearly, she looked just as bewildered as he felt.
Pale eyes met dark ones.
“Hyuga Hinata.”
It was the first time her name had left his lips.
Little did he know that it would haunt him for the rest of his life.