Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ In Love With A Ghost ❯ Chapter 9 - News ( Chapter 9 )

Last Chapter Summary: After that explosion in the Hokage's office, and the mysterious 'invisible' kunai, everything is explained - and I do mean, everything is explained by the still 'mysterious' Seishin me. The spirit eye. The explanation for Juri being able to see Kakashi, the explanation for all the stupid things that's happened in Juri's life up until now. So, what's the verdict then?

 

[i.n.l.o.v.e.w.i.t.h.a.g.h.o.s.t]

 

In Love with a Ghost

… A Naruto fan fiction

 

In Love with a Ghost © SilverDragon

Naruto © Kishimoto Masashi

 

Chapter 9 -

“News”

 

Yawning, I rubbed the side of my face, attempting to keep my eyes opened as Hiashi droned on and on and on about something relating to the spirit eye; that I apparently didn't seem to care about too much...

 

"Juri,"

 

I snapped to attention at a sharp voice. Hiashi was glaring at me. Opps.

 

"Gomen ne," I muttered sleepily. The damned Uchiha kid had kept me awake for over half of the night! It wasn't my fault I couldn't stay awake... Besides, I had to go to work in about an hour anyway. My head nodded off again and I automatically jerked my head back up in response. This time, my head slammed into something solid.

 

Yelping, I nursed the back of my head, rubbing the spot where I knew a bump must be starting to form. Glancing back accusingly, I saw Kakashi standing there, grinning at me. Eyes narrowing slightly, I cocked my head. I was surprised to see him here.

 

I know that we had cleared up our differences yesterday... but how could he go from angry to acting like nothing happened in less than 5 hours? Especially after how he exploded last time... (Ahem, the incidents at the Ichiraku Ramen stand) Well, we haven't exactly 'cleared' up things. After the meeting with the Hokage yesterday... Kakashi just started talking to me again - like nothing had ever happened between us.

 

What exactly is he hiding?

 

What will happen to my life now?

And what the heck is this spirit eye I have?

 

So many questions. So many questions that I didn't want to deal with. So many questions that I wanted to throw out the window or burn in the trash. Why did my life have to become so complicated? I was completely content with how it was before... before my parents died. And before I had ever even met Kakashi.

 

'Do you really?'

 

Yes. Really. Or maybe not... no... I don't know anymore. I'm getting mixed feelings from him - from myself, I just don't know anymore.

 

"Juri!"

I snapped to attention, "... err... hai?"

 

Hiashi gave me a long, hard look, "That's it for today," I looked at him incredulously, "That's it?" But I didn't even learn anything yet....

 

"You are not concentrating so you obviously will not learn anything. Come back to me when you are ready," With that, he left the room. Grumbling to myself, I managed to pull myself to my feet, groaning when I felt my left leg sting in pain. It was asleep!

 

Poke.

 

My eye twitched and I promptly ignored the poke from the spirit.

 

Mainly, Kakashi.

 

Poke. Poke.

 

Standing up, I wandered out of the room, closing the door behind me. Now I had to find my way out of that confusing Hyuuga complex. Tapping my finger against my lips thoughtfully as I came to a hall that went left and right, I stopped. Wait... I turned around. The room that I had just exited was at the end of the hall.

 

Good. Kakashi wasn't following me. I turned back around and took a step.

 

"Where are you going?" Damn. Caught. I thought he wasn't behind me!

 

"Nowhere," I answered quickly. I heard an amused snort. "Are you perhaps... lost?" When I whirled to face the masked shinobi, I found him gone. Confused, my eyes wandered the now empty hall.

 

Where did he go now?

 

[i.n.l.o.v.e.w.i.t.h.a.g.h.o.s.t]

 

There's nothing like a nice stroll in the park on a nice, sunny day. And there's nothing as good as no certain ninja -coughKakashicough- bothering you too. That was good, because I was very tired.

 

The damned Uchiha kid had kept me awake for over half of the night! It wasn't my fault I couldn't stay awake... How did he keep me up, you ask? Well, let's start with number one.

 

The boy was absolute infuriating when it came down to anything that had a relation to giving him more power. Since Hyuuga-san had told us all that my left eye was somewhat related to the Sharingan, Sasuke had spent the rest of the day bombarding me with questions about the Seishin me.

 

And no, it's not straight forward questions. He didn't exactly make it noticeable in the way he followed me around either. Instead, he'd pop up in the worst possible scenarios. Like popping up while I was about to do dishes - which lead to me losing a few of my precious glass plates and bowls.

 

It didn't help quicken the process of moving into my new apartment at all. It was a decent sized apartment and I had managed to get one of higher floors - floor three out of four, I believe. It was close to the Konoha woods, so if I ever wanted to go for a nice walk I wouldn't have to go very far.

 

Anyway, back to the Uchiha kid topic. Sasuke would pop in now and then while I was settling into my new house to say, "How much?" I would then proceed to stare at him. I didn't have a clue about what he was talking about. So I would ignore him and then I'd hear a growl/grunt. He'd then leave for a while and be back in another hour, throwing in another stupid question that was slightly clearer, "The Seishin me... How much?"

 

And I would be confused again. And so this process had proceeded over the remainder of my day. I didn't get finished cleaning my new place because of this kid. And then while I was sleeping, I would wake up to find him in my kitchen. He was 'making himself something to eat.' I mean, I hardly knew the guy! What gave him the right to do that? What gave him the right to eat my food!? It's my precious food brought by my own preciously earned money! Get your own! Grrr!

 

I had kicked the damn kid out of my place, but a few minutes later he was back in.

 

Curse those damn ninja and their skills! Oh wait... I was suppose to train my chakra for the Seishin me... wouldn't that make me a ninja too? Okay, no more insulting ninja then!

 

Well, finally I had gotten to the point where I didn't care anymore and had just fallen asleep on my new couch. When I had woken up the next morning, Sasuke was gone.

 

Not to mention that I had woken up around 10:00 AM or so... which made Hyuuga-san just an itty, bitty bit angry because I was suppose to meet him at 8:00 AM.

 

But now, at last I had some sort of peace and quiet. I had about an hour before work, so I had one hour to relax...

 

Just perfect.

 

In this one hour, I wouldn't worry about the stupid Seishin me business. I wouldn't worry about the stupid Kakashi business. I wouldn't worry about cleaning up my new place.

 

A rustle in the bushes to my left caused my right eye to twitch.

 

I would absolutely not be worry about some stupid kid who would bother me again...

 

"Aha! I found her! Sasuke-teme, she's over here!"

 

Twitch.

 

Okay, I change my statement. I would absolutely not worry about some stupid kids who would bother me.

 

"...dobe. Who said I was looking for her?" The two said kids appeared in my pathway, forcing me to stop. My eye twitched again when I heard Sasuke say that, even though he was pointedly looking right at me. Damn liar.

 

Yes, I was pissed. I was beyond pissed. I wanted peace and quiet but all I got was idiot and bastard.

 

Naruto - idiot.

 

Sasuke - bastard.

 

Can my life get any worse?

 

[i.n.l.o.v.e.w.i.t.h.a.g.h.o.s.t]

 

I spoke too soon. My life can definitely get much worse. Since those two had found me, my day had gone from bad to worse. From worse to horrific. And from horrific to the point of no return.

 

The two had blatantly killed my wonderful hour to myself, so I had gone straight home, got dressed, and then gone straight to work. It was my hope that I would deter them from following me. Then Naruto seemed to remember that I worked at the Ichiraku Ramen Stand, so he had shouted out `ramen' and ran ahead of me.

 

Leaving me alone...

 

With Sasuke. The annoying fu... erm—the annoying prick.

 

I could feel a tingling on my shoulder blade where I just knew he was staring at. Did this guy have nothing better to do? Heck, he was worst than Kakashi! At least Kakashi talks.

 

"Don't you have training to do?" I asked bluntly. There was a pause.

 

"Hn,"

 

"Is that a yes or a no?"

 

"Hn," This was a soon followed by a, “Che,”

 

My eye twitched. Kami save me.

 

"Yo,"

 

And guess who this was..? "Long time no see, Juri-chan!"

 

Kami, please save me. I edged away from the Copy-Nin and turned the thought of `running away' over in my head. But it was immediately dashed away when I felt a hand encircle my wrist.

 

For a few seconds, I just stared. My walking had ceased completely by now and Sasuke was staring at me quizzically.

 

"Let go," I muttered, "I have to get to work," I saw Kakashi grin.

 

"But Juri-chan! Why walk when we can get there the quicker way?" His head tipped slightly and his other hand rose. I saw Sasuke's eyes widen slightly in realization - he must've heard Kakashi. My own eyebrows furrowed in confusion and I heard Kakashi mutter something under his breath.

 

Letting out a shriek, my eyes closed instinctively when I felt my entire body shift and I felt my head spinning, my vision swirling around continuously. It felt strange - like a tremble going from the tip of your toes to the edges of your hair. And of course, by all means my body was rejecting it. Fighting the urge to barf, I covered my mouth with my left hand just as the sensation stopped.

 

And I do mean stop. Everything stopped. The urge to barf had now faded and I cautiously opened my eyes and lowered my hand. To my surprise, I found myself staring at the back of the Ichiraku Ramen stand.

 

"What the-" I started.

 

"See? Nice and quick." Kakashi's triumphantly voice reminded my body again just what had occurred and I hurriedly bolted over towards a dark corner, emptying my stomach of this morning's breakfast. I heard a sheepish chuckle from behind me somewhere, "Wari, wari... Sumimasen… I should've remembered that regular humans don't take the travelling techniques of spirits like me too well."

 

Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I glared at him, "I thought you weren't a spirit - it's just a curse, isn't it?" Kakashi stared at me for a couple of seconds. He sighed and rested against a back wall (we were presently standing in an alleyway behind the ramen shop). "I guess you could say that. But technically speaking, I am a spirit. I'm just a spirit that's still attached to my living body. If the bond was - let's say - cut then I just become a regular spirit."

 

I cocked my head, "So you're just a ghost… thingy… that's still attached to your body." I said flatly. He gave me a narrowed glance, "Hai!" he drawled. He sounded way too carefree over something as serious as that. Kakashi stared at me for a few seconds and gave me a pat on the head and grinned briefly at me.

 

Suddenly a flash of movement caught my eye and Kakashi stiffened. Turning to my left, I saw a flash of dark hair pass by the Ichiraku Ramen Stand. When I turned back to Kakashi, his eyes held a distant look.

 

"I have something to take care of," he said flatly and disappeared. My eyes narrowed and I felt a frown form.

 

Naomi. A coincidence? First I saw him near her during my parents' funeral and now he just so happens to walk off when I see Naomi go by?

 

Sighing, I brushed away the thoughts of the popular girl and slipped through the right side of the ramen shop, entering through the side door. Hanging my white jacket on a hook behind the door, I paused.

 

I had no right to hate Naomi - or despise her even. The only thing she had really done to me was... well... nothing really. Sure, we weren't exactly the best of friends, but we were enemies either. We were... acquaintances that just didn't enjoy each other's company.

 

I suppose I was jealous of her. She was popular, had great parents and had enough money to last her a lifetime. We were entire opposites. And I'm not out looking for pity either. There's just times when I feel... lost. Out of place because I see people with their family and friends. I no longer had that opportunity. I didn't cherish my parents while they were here and now they were gone.

 

But hey, at least I had a few close friends, right? There was Ichi, Iruka (kind of because he had known me during my childhood) and um… I suppose I could count Kakashi, as annoying as he is.

 

Slipping on the usual uniform I wore, I exited the small foyer and entered one of the two doors which led to the main kitchen. I saw my boss, Teuchi already boiling up some ramen. He gave me a nod and a kind smile, "Why don't you start preparing the various ingredients?"

 

I nodded and stifled a yawn.

 

Okay, let me explain how this works. At this stand, there is, really on one base soup. This is used for every single kind of ramen that is served here. The different flavors of the ramen actually come from the ingredients added to each bowl and Teuchi's exceptional spicing skills (which he has said he will teach me... one day). Relatively, my job is to prepare the various ingredients that are added - like shrimp, lobster, crab, pork, onions, lettuce, and various other things. And trust me, there is a lot.

 

Relatively, there are over 100 different kinds of ramen. But here, we serve only fewer than ten different kinds. The most popular seems to be Tonkotsu Ramen (Pork bone soup ramen) and Miso Ramen (miso soy bean paste soup ramen). But we also serve Shoyu Ramen (soy sauce soup ramen) and Shio Ramen (salt soup ramen) just to name a few.

 

I placed the now cut yakibuta (pork ham) into a large bowl and made a face at the negi (leek) before beginning to chop them up. Whoever liked leek in their ramen was crazy. I'm sure there are people who like them, but I'm not among those.

 

Glancing up briefly and looking back down, I froze. What-?

 

I stared.

 

There, Naomi was sitting quietly, forlorn and looking so out of place. I hesitated then sighed and spoke, "Welcome! What can I get you today?" I grimaced at the forced cheerfulness in my voice and Naomi glanced up.

 

She stared at me. I saw her lips twitch into a smirk, "Diner girl?" I felt my eyebrow twitch.

 

"What can I get you?" I repeated, gritting my teeth. She let out another sigh and the smirk wiped off her face. I blinked as she waved her hand distractedly, "I'll have a bowl of miso ramen please."

 

Turning away from her to boil the already prepared noodles, my lips twisted into a frown. Something was off with Naomi today, but I couldn't seem to tell what it was. She wasn't her usual... snobby self. To tell you the truth, I'm sure you all know I don't like her. But with her acting like this... it's kind of hard to hate her you know.

 

After a little while, I placed the bowl in front of her only to receive a nod. A nod. That was it - nothing more, nothing less. Usually, I would receive some sort of scathing remark. What was wrong with her?

 

Giving an internal shrug, I turned away to resume my earlier task.

 

"I didn't know you worked here."

 

Startled, I managed not to jump and gave a questioning look towards the dark haired girl over my shoulder. She was looking down at her bowl, chopsticks in hand. I gave a little tilt of my head, "I had to make money somehow." I said slowly, "Money doesn't grow on trees you know."

 

Her eyes swept over me and I could've sworn I saw a flash of pity go through them. My eyes crinkled in confusion. Somehow Naomi had changed - but for what reason I do not know.

 

I saw Naomi bite her lip and suddenly she set her chopsticks down and leaned forwards. "Actually... I've come to ask you something." My eyebrows rose, "I... Something strange has been happening around me lately and I was wondering if you would know anything about it. Not only that, I overheard a couple of people at Yohei the other day talking about something called a spirit eye... and I heard your name. I figured it might have something to do with you..."

 

My eyes widened. Idiots! The only ones who knew about my spirit eye were the people that were at the meeting! Who could've leaked information?

 

"What is this something...?" I asked cautiously.

 

Naomi hesitated, "Well... Okay... I think I'll have to tell you a little background informa-"

 

I cut her off, "And what makes you think that I'll help you? You haven't exactly treated me like a queen, you know." A flash of regret passed over her face.

 

"I..."

 

Crossing my arms, I waited.

 

She let out a huff of air, "Okay, I'm sorry all right? I never really meant all those things... I guess I was, er... well, jealous?" She finished meekly.

 

Silence.

 

I burst out into insane laughter. Jealous! She had been jealous of me! That was absurd! What on earth did I have to be jealous of? I had nothing. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Zip. Zilch. Nothing!

 

After a few minutes, I finally caught my breath again and I leaned against the counter, letting out a long drawn out breath. Naomi was glaring at me, arms folded pointedly across her chest.

 

"... Go on," I said finally. Might as well listen to what the girl had to say.

 

"It's about someone I used to know a long time ago... I think... nearly four years ago." I froze. Four years ago... No... It must be a coincidence - there was no possible way-!

 

"His name was Hatake Kakashi."

 

My entire world froze. I couldn't believe it. But it was true.

 

"I met him one day right here, in this Ramen stand..." I saw Naomi's eyes glaze over and I bit my lip, setting down the utensils I held in my hand. "It turns out we had a lot more in common than I thought," She said dully and glanced at me awkwardly, "Surprisingly, I don't remember as much about him as I wish I could've, but I still remember him. But this is where it gets strange," she frowned, "These… past couple of days I've been hearing voices. And... And sometimes I could swear that it was his voice. Kakashi..."

 

Naomi's voice held no bitter tones, no spiting background and for the first time since I've met her, she actually seems like a civil person now. I couldn't even bring myself to hate her anymore!

 

"And... since I overheard about you and a Spirit eye... I was wondering if you could... check if you can see anything around... here." I saw her wring her hands nervously. I stifled a sigh. Deep inside, I didn't want to do it. Why should I help someone who's always hated me?

 

"I..." I started. "I suppose I could..." it was difficult to get that sentence out. A hissing sound caught my attention and I saw the pot of soup nearly overflowing. Hurriedly I turned the heat lower and gently stirred the broth with a large spoon.

 

Once satisfied, I turned back to Naomi.

 

Only see her wide, shimmering eyes staring back at me, "Oh... Thank you so much Juri!" I held up my hands, "I can't promise anything though!" I probably could… but...

 

She gave me another award-winning smile and stood up, bowing quickly, "I shall speak with you later on then. Ja ne!" I gave her a distracted wave in reply and my eyes landed on her untouched bowl of ramen. However, she had left money beside it.

 

I rolled my eyes. Perhaps the worst personalities can even change. A change of heart. Damnit. Screw me and my stupid compassion.

 

[i.n.l.o.v.e.w.i.t.h.a.g.h.o.s.t]

 

The next day...

 

"We have now gotten through most of the basic history of the spirit eye. It is time you learn how to control this gift to a certain degree." My eye twitched when I heard the word 'gift.' Of all things to call it, it had to be a gift. It could be... technique or anything... I would rather call it a curse. Since I've started to learn about it, I've began to see… other spirits. Not of my own accord, I swear! Since I can't really control it yet, sometimes I can see things… and sometimes I can't.

 

You'd be amazed at how many animal spirits still linger around here. I couldn't tell that they were spirits until one time I had been stroking a cat and Ichi had found me. She asked me what I was doing, petting thin air and that's when I realized it.

 

But anyway, the history of the spirit eye is amazingly short. It was first discovered 60 years ago by my grandmother, who had the same eye herself. But she had it in both of her eyes while I only had it in my left eye. There wasn't much that was known about it, only that it was able to catch onto the more supernatural side of the world and was able to decipher the forbidden techniques of the ninja world. In other worlds, the kinjutsu.

 

Moreover, one could call the Seishin me a doujutsu - something that is passed down in family lines only. The spirit eye had limits yes, and it took an amazingly small amount of chakra to use. That wasn't strange, considering that I had been using it without knowing I was. However, the aftereffect was when it was turned off was immediate exhaustion that could last for days - depending on how long it was left on. Confusing, isn't it?

 

Well, basically it drained chakra very, very slowly while on but once it was off the user would be exhausted. It's kind of like adrenaline. When you have it, you feel like you could run ten marathons but as soon as the situation were over, you're just pooped.

 

That would explain the times when I felt drained whenever Kakashi was never around. Apparently my eye had somehow developed a automate system. It had switched on whenever Kakashi was around and flicked off whenever he was gone. Hiashi said it was a way the body was trying to protect itself. In other words, I had no idea how to control it. Besides, protect myself? Protect myself from the embarrassing things he would do if I couldn't see him? That can I see happening.

 

Hiashi paused, "But I think before I teach you to use this, you should know something." I waited. "The Seishin me may seem like something that is a gift-" my eye twitched again, "- but it is by no means one. In fact..."

 

I felt a sense of dread overcome my body. Something told me that I didn't want to hear this.

 

"... It was the very thing that killed your grandmother." I felt my blood run cold. I knew I didn't want to hear it.

 

I nibbled on my fingernail nervously, "How?"

 

Hiashi paused, his pale eyes studying me carefully, "Like I told you before, besides the setback of exhaustion that is felt when it is turned off, there is only one other backlash to this... gift." I ignored the word.

 

"Every time this doujutsu is used, your life span will shorten. In other words, every time it is used your life energy is drained." His eyes focused on me carefully. Slowly, I felt my eyes open and before I knew it, my mouth opened.

 

"Holy f-!"

 

"Language!" Hiashi said sharply. I bit my tongue, cursing inwardly at both the pain and at what Hiashi has just told me.

 

"Then how much of my life span was lost during the last couple of weeks?" I sputtered frantically. Hiashi studied me cautiously. "It would be safe to assume a couple of years or so."

 

My jaw dropped.

 

It would be safe to assume--!

 

Unfair!

 

"With that matter aside, it brings us to our next topic." I tried to focus on his words, "The main task of getting you to use this doujutsu is to save Kakashi. However, there is no point of you learning how to use it and risking your life if you do not wish to help him. What is your answer?"

 

Now that was a hard question, was it not?

 

Either save, or don't save a person.

 

Either save a person, whom during the past couple of weeks I had grown extremely close to, or leave him to die.

 

What kind of question was that!

 

But then again... was it worth it? There was no telling how much I would need to use this... spirit eye during this task - err, mission. I could lose a decade off my life for heaven's sakes!

 

But there was no way I could say no.

 

I furrowed my brow and met Hiashi's eyes dead on, "I accept."

 

[i.n.l.o.v.e.w.i.t.h.a.g.h.o.s.t]

 

Revised August 28, 2008