Naruko Uzumaki dislikes ghosts. She especially dislikes the ghost of that absurdly cheerful Uchiha boy who refuses to leave her alone. Shisui x femNaruto

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When Naruko was five years old, she discovered that no one else could see the man with the spiky silver hair and sad grey eyes.

She had been sitting on the floor of the orphanage, telling the older man of her day in the happy, rapid burbling of a child, when Grandfather Hokage came in. Naruko had been alone in the room, since the Matron shied away from her presence and the other children weren't allowed to play with her, but she was content with that. The worn wooden floors were comfortable, she had her Gama-chan doll, and the bright sunlight streaming in from the large window illuminated all the dust motes in the air like daylight fireflies. And the man with the silver hair was sitting quietly besides her, occasionally nodding when she gestured a particularly important point.

"Ojiisan!" Naruko noted with startled excitement. The small child scrambled up to her feet and, in only a few paces since the room was small, embraced the old man. He smelled comfortably of books, ink, smoke, and- what Naruko generally referred to as- 'old person'.

"Hello Naruko," the man smiled, returning her hug, "I'm glad to see you. Have you eaten yet?"

"Nope!" Naruko grinned, since even if she already had eaten, ojiisan would have wanted a 'no', so he could take her out for a meal.

"Hmm, are you sure about that?" Sarutobi Hiruzen teased, bending down slowly to look the child in the eyes, "I don't hear your stomach grumbling…"

Naruko pouted. "A lady's stomach doesn't grumble ojiisan!"

Hiruzen chuckled. "Where did you hear that?"

"Haruki-san said so," Naruko answered, matter-of-fact. She stuck her nose in the air and imitated the stern, nasally tones of one of the workers. "'A lady's stomach must never grumble, and a lady's smile must never slip, and a lady's hands must never- ever- be idle.'"

"Ah, then I offer you my most sincerest apologies, Naruko-chan," the old man stood back up and offered her a hand, "May I have the honor of your presence for today's lunch?"

The blonde girl giggled, breaking the solemn gesture. "Sure! Can we have ramen?" she asked eagerly. She slipped her small hand into ojiisan's larger one.

"Yes, I think a bowl of Ichiraku's would hit the spot now," Hiruzen said, turning around and tugging at her. When she didn't move, he looked back in mild curiosity. "Naruko?"

Naruto hesitated, looked back at the silver-haired man and squared her shoulders. "Can my friend come?"

The Sandaime looked surprised, and then delighted by her question. "I don't see anything wrong with that, my girl," he replied, "I'm glad you made a new friend. Where is she?"

Naruko looked at him oddly. "It's a he, ojiisan. And he's right over there." She turned and pointed to the man with the spiky silver hair, who looked briefly hopeful and then adopted a resigned expression. He gave her a small, sad smile.

"Who's there, Naruko?" Hiruzen asked, stepping forward and looking at the empty space with a wary eye, "Is your friend hiding?"

"What? No! He's right over there." She gestured forward, "See? He's smiling at you!"

The Sandaime's face ran through a series of expressions: concern, worry, understanding, and finally, sadness. "There's no one there, Naruko-chan," he told her gently, "I believe you've created an imaginary friend… perfectly understandable. Does he have a name?"

Naruko gaped at the Hokage, before looking over at the silver haired man again. The man offered her a short wave, before stepping back and fading into the woodwork. The sunlight wavered briefly as he abruptly disappeared.

"He went away!" Naruko said, dismayed, "He's gone, ojiisan. You scared him!"

"I'm sorry, Naruko," the Sandaime answered, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly, "But I'm sure that he'll be back. Why don't we have something to eat in the mean time?"

Naruko's blue eyes fastened on the space where the man was for a second longer, before she looked away. "Okay, ojiisan." She plastered a grin on her whiskered face, grabbed his hand, and dragged him, laughing, through the door.

She looked back once as the Hokage stepped forward to take the lead. The silver haired man was standing by her window again, with a single finger raised to smiling lips. She returned the smile, and turned away.

It would be their secret.

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Naruko had always had seen the ghosts. She didn't know that they were ghosts at first. Isolated for most of her life, Naruko found solace in the men and women, and occasionally child, who would waver in the light and easily walk through solid objects. For the most part they ignored her too, intent on going to where they needed to go or repetitively performing some task. They wouldn't last for very long. Sometimes they would be there for an hour, or a day, or a week before they disappeared, and Naruko never saw them again.

The silver-haired man was the only one who lasted for very long. He never spoke to her, but he would always sit by her bed every morning, smile and nod as he listened to her stories, and occasionally card his fingers through her hair. His fingers were always cold, but Naruko welcomed the touch, because it was almost like having a parent.

She asked him if he was her father one day, but he shook his head and looked apologetic. She never asked again.

On a subconscious level, Naruko knew that what she could see wasn't normal. The silver haired man was invisible to everyone else, and that was why she didn't press ojiisan about him when they went out for ramen. Naruko was the only one who could see the silver haired man, and that was just the way she liked it. He would be her special little secret.

She did want him to confirm her suspicions though.

"Ano… shinobi-san?" she asked, slightly more timid than usual, after she had gotten into her sleeping clothes and snuggled under the covers. The silver-haired man was sitting besides her bed, patiently waiting for her to wish him goodnight as was their night time ritual. Afterward, he would disappear until the morning.

In the few times that Naruko addressed him, she did so by his shinobi title. He still had a shiny hitai-ate on his forehead, with the symbol for Konoha engraved on it. The man turned his face towards her, and cocked his head in question.

"A-are you a ghost?" she stammered out. It's not that she was afraid! It was just that this was a g-ghost… Naruko shrunk a little deeper into her cover.

The man had a look of mild surprise on his face as he nodded.

Gaining some more courage, she ventured forth. "Are you going to eat me?"

Appearing a little amused, he shook his head negative. Naruko breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you going to leave soon?" she demanded, now finding a different concern. Again, he shook his head negative, and she smiled brightly.

"Then I need to find something to call you," she declared, "How about Inu-oji, since you shake your head like a wagging dog?"

His eyes widened, possibly at her impudence, before he doubled over in silent laughter. Naruto frowned and pushed herself up to a sitting position. "You don't like it?"

Inu-oji laughed for a few seconds longer, before he looked up with a sheepish smile. He pointed to himself and moved his mouth slowly. It took a few seconds for Naruko to squint before she read the words "Inu-oji" on his lips. She grinned in triumph and laid back in bed.

"Goodnight Inu-oji," Naruko said, turning around and closing her eyes. Though she couldn't see him or hear him, the blonde girl knew that he would be mouthing a goodbye back.

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Two more years passed before Naruko was acknowledged by another ghost. She was just starting her first year at the Academy- well, technically it was the second, since she had failed last year- when the boy appeared. Naruko could tell that he was a ghost, and not a human. It wasn't just the flickering edges of his body or the cold feeling she got when she stood a few feet away from him. It was the emptiness Naruko felt through her peripheral senses… a hole almost in the area that he stood, that used to be filled with warmth and little wisps of chakra.

She had thought that it was Inu-oji at first, which would have been odd since the silver-haired man only visited her when it was time to walk to the Academy and was always prompt. Her questioning nature caused her to gently push open her bedroom door, and silently creep over to the living room. That was when she got her first look at him.

The boy was tall and lanky, with messy black hair that fell over his forehead in unruly curls. His skin was very pale, but his facial structure was what Naruko heard some women refer to as classically handsome. The features were all sharp and symmetrical, and two dark red eyes with long, well-defined eyelashes were inset on his face. His eyes were both scary and beautiful: a four-point pinwheel around an ink-black pupil. He was probably a member of the old Uchiha Clan.

He didn't look very threatening, so Naruko ventured a question.

"Excuse me, Uchiha-san? This is my home. Will you be leaving here soon?"

He looked towards her with shock. "You can see me?"

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