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For the last three weeks Naruto had been showing up to taekwondo practice tired and drained. Every day the bags under his eyes only seemed to grow, and he seemed even more sluggish in a sparring match than an actual slug. Sasuke had just about had enough. That night after practice, Sasuke waited for the usually energetic Naruto to drag himself out of the changing room, bag slung over his shoulder and jacket tied around his waist. “Naruto.” He called out as the curtain shifted to the side and said boy came out.
“Eh? What do you want?” The blond gave a small yelp when Sasuke let himself drop back against the wall with a rather loud thud.
“You’ve been even worse than usual. We have a team tournament coming up in a month. I don’t want you to be the reason we lose, and I’m sure Sakura feels the same.” He reached over and flicked him on the forehead. “So spill. What’s the deal?”
Naruto grumbled, rubbing at his forehead then fixing the strap of his bag. “Nothin’! If anything, I’m gonna be the reason we win!” He boasted, pushing past Sasuke and heading towards the door.
Sasuke stuck his foot out, making Naruto trip and nearly fall over. “You’re not getting away that easily. Neither of us are leaving the dojo until you explain why you’ve been half asleep on your feet. I refuse to end up in last because of you.”
Naruto slumped his shoulders, any fight he had left leaving him. “Hey Sasuke, do you believe in ghosts?” He suddenly asked, lifting his head and fixing the Uchiha with a blank stare.
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Twenty minutes later and Sasuke found himself stepping into the home of Naruto Uzumaki. He watched as Naruto kicked off his shoes and threw his bag in the hall. Sasuke glanced around the rather grungy apartment with disdain. Assumedly dirty clothes lay on the floor, dishes were piled up in the sink, and someone had left the window open, allowing the rain to get in and drip down the wall.
“You can just put your stuff wherever.” Naruto said, bringing Sasuke back to attention. “If you’re hungry help yourself to whatever’s in the fridge, though I can’t promise there will be much there.”
Sasuke set his duffle bag down by the wall, shutting the window while he was there. “So where’s this ‘ghost’ you were going on about?” He grumbled, turning back around and crossing his arms. “I can’t believe you dragged me into this bullshit.” He muttered a bit quieter.
Naruto gave a scowl. “Hey! Don’t give me that! I told you you didn’t have to come.” He shook his head. “Anyway, we won’t be able to hear it yet. It only ever comes out when I go to bed. That’s why I haven’t been able to sleep.”
“...Right.” Sasuke sounded unconvinced. He gave a small shrug and turned heel, heading down the hall to Naruto’s room. Naruto trailed after him, glancing around his home a tad uneasily. Sasuke sat down on the edge of Naruto’s bed, kicking aside a pillow that had been knocked to the floor with his foot. “So now we play the waiting game?”
“Yup.” Naruto slumped onto his bed, scrambling up to the head of his bed. “It’s starting to get dark out. It probably won’t be long.” He said with a glance to the window.
“Good. And then when it turns out to be nothing you’ll have to come up with another lame excuse for lagging behind.” Sasuke muttered, bringing his legs up and crossing them beneath him.
“Fine! And when the ghost shows up and you shit yourself, I’ll be the one laughing.” Naruto huffed, gathering up his blanket around his shoulders.
“If you say so.” Sasuke gave a shrug.
The two fell quiet as the room darkened. Sasuke found himself starting to nod off, his head bobbing a bit. He snapped out of it when Naruto suddenly reached over and shook his shoulder. “There! Did you hear that?”
“What? No?” Sasuke blinked a few times, waking himself back up. “I didn’t hear anything.” A small scratching noise broke his pause, getting louder bit by bit. “...Okay. Now I think I hear it.” The noise got louder still, and then it suddenly stopped. Sasuke could hear Naruto gulp, and while it was a bit too dark in the room too see his face he had a pretty good idea on what expression the other had.
A loud clatter was heard from the kitchen as if something was knocked down. Naruto bit back a yelp, jumping in surprise. “T-there! There was no way you didn’t hear that one!” He hissed in a sharp whisper.
“I already told you I heard it. Come on.” Sasuke slid off the bed, gesturing for Naruto to follow him.
“What!? No way! You know, nevermind all this. Let’s just stay here and not piss off the ghost.” Naruto whispered frantically, waving his arms around.
“Suit yourself.” Sasuke stepped forward just as another crash came from the kitchen.
Naruto was off the bed and behind Sasuke in half a second. “On second thought, I think I’ll come with.”
The two shuffled down the hall, Naruto sticking so close to Sasuke he was practically stepping on his heels. Even Sasuke had to admit he was starting to get spooked. The rainy atmosphere really wasn’t helping things. He paused at the end of the hall, staring into the dark room in front of him.
Lightning flashed outside, illuminating two bright glowing eyes for just a second. Naruto grabbed onto Sasuke’s arm with a grip made of steel, a wheezing noise escaping him in a fashion similar to air escaping a balloon.
Sasuke carried on, dragging Naruto along with him. Getting that glimpse of those eyes had told him all he really needed to know. Another clanging noise came from the kitchen, and this time Sasuke followed it to an open cupboard. It’s contents were spilled out on the floor and Sasuke could swear it wasn’t this way when he got here.
Shrugging a terrified looking Naruto off of himself, Sasuke slowly reached into the cupboard. He pulled out a small, black, wriggling bundle and held it out to Naruto. “There’s your ghost, you idiot.”
“Huh?” Naruto stared at the squirming shape, not completely sure what it was yet. He slowly reached out a shaky hand, eventually pressing his fingertips lightly to it’s surface. He let out a small surprised noise at the soft fur he felt. “It’s… a cat?”
“I told you so. There’s no way a ghost would want to haunt such a dinky place.” Sasuke said with a smirk. The cat gave a small meow, finally managing to break free of his hands. It hopped down to the floor and twined between his legs.
Naruto paid no heed, crouching down and giving the troublesome feline a pat on the head. “So this little guy must have been running around the apartment making all that noise, huh? How’d he get in though?”
“How do you know it’s a he?” Sasuke mused. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms against his chest. “In any case, now that this ridiculous situation has been dealt with, I’m going to bed. It might be the weekend but we’ve still got practice in the morning.”
Naruto scooped the cat up in his arms, rubbing his cheek against the back of it’s head. “It’s not dealt with though.” Sasuke tilted his head to the side, prompting Naruto to elaborate as he pushed off the counter and started for the hall. Naruto followed after him, the small dark feline curling up against him. “It’d be mean to just set this little guy outside and leave him, but my landlord has a no pets policy.”
“Well what do you want me to do about it?” Sasuke replied with a shrug. Naruto shot ahead of him and spun around, looking up at him with what Sasuke assumed to be puppy eyes. What Naruto was about to ask suddenly became crystal clear and before he could even open his mouth Sasuke shut him down. “No. I’m not taking the cat.”
“Aww, why not!? You seem like a cat person to me. Just look at him!” Naruto shoved the annoyed looking cat into his face. “Take me home Sasuke!” He voiced for the cat.
“Even if I wanted to, I can’t. Both my father and older brother are allergic.” Sasuke countered, nudging his way past Naruto. He pushed the bedroom door aside and laid down on the bed, crossing his arms behind his head and stretching out his legs.
“You brother doesn’t even live with you guys anymore.” Naruto complained, flopping down on top of Sasuke.
Sasuke let out a small ‘oof’. “But my father does.” He tried to shove Naruto off the top of him but no dice. The spiky blond had no plans to move and simply sprawled out over the top of Sasuke. The cat followed suit curled up in a ball on his stomach. Resigning to his fate, Sasuke gave a small sigh. “Maybe you could give it to Kakashi sensei or something. He seems kinda lonely.”
“Hey, that’s actually not a bad idea! Maybe the little guy could be like our dojo mascot!” Naruto gave a small laugh, tilting his head back. A small meow came from the bundle on Naruto’s gut.
“Ghost agrees.” Sasuke mumbled, once again feeling the pull of sleep on his mind. It had been a long day, he deserved some rest for having to put up with Naruto’s shenanigans again.
“Ghost?”
“The cat needed a name. I thought Ghost was rather fitting.” Sasuke gave a small smirk at Naruto’s groan of indignation.
“Yeah yeah, whatever. Go to sleep.” Naruto huffed in reply.
“Maybe I’d be able to if you weren’t squishing me.”
“I don’t weigh that much. Jeez, are you really that weak?”
“No, I just don’t feel like supporting you.”
“Jerk.”
“Idiot.” Naruto gave a small snort at that. “Now shut up. I’m trying to sleep.” Sasuke gave Naruto a small jab in the side.
“Mmm. Whatever you say ‘mom’.” The newly named ‘Ghost’ gave another meow and that was that. The two boys let it end at that, both looking forward to getting some shut eye. Especially Naruto, it felt like ages since he last got some proper rest thanks to the little troublemaker laying on his chest. However, he didn’t really find himself all that upset with the critter.