The Red Room Virus - A Naruto Mystery/Horror Fanfiction

Chapter 4: Ghosthunters!?

(Okeydokey! Chapter 4 is here! Kinda had to rewrite this chapter a couple of times! This chapter is also kind of long, (double in length, I think) and kind of slow near the end. ^_^' Hehe... We'll be looking at a flashback here as well! ^^' -----------------~SilverDiamonde07~)

The three teenagers looked expectantly at the Akatsuki leader. So they were being entrusted with the Akatsuki's secret? This was some privilege indeed!

The man before them tapped his fingers on the sleek wood desk, and said: "Well, how do I put this... We, the Akatsuki, specialize in matters that cannot be logically explained through scientific methods and the like, such as paranormal phenomena and spectres."

The young students blinked. Naruto and Sakura shared a baffled look. Even Sasuke looked confused, his eyebrows raised quizzically.

The younger Uchiha opened his mouth and said slowly, "So basically...you and your team are... ghost hunters...?"

His brother smirked slightly. "Precisely, little brother."

"But...but I thought that ghosts don't exist!" Sakura protested. "I've read many books about the supernatural, and all claims about ghosts and demons being real have been proven false!"

Itachi shook his head. "There are many occurrences and events that cannot be explained by science alone. Some world famous cases and mysteries have still been left unsolved."

At that point, Nagato returned, file in one hand and a tray of five glasses in the other. He handed the file to his boss, who skimmed through it, and placed it on the table. Nagato proceeded to pass the glasses around, everyone taking one each. Nagato moved to lean against the wall near the door, his own glass in hand.

"That is where we come in," The Uchiha continued, taking a sip from his fruit juice. "We take on cases that we believe might have some more...otherworldly connections."

Sasuke, who had also taken a tentative sip from his, spluttered at this. "Otherworldly connections?! Kindly tell me what exactly gave you such a notion, Itachi!" He glared at his brother.

Unfazed at his little brother's outburst, Itachi pushed the file at him.

"Read this," he ordered promptly.

The younger Uchiha took the file and opened it, his two friends looking over his shoulder curiously.

Inside were quite a number of newspaper clippings, photographs and news reports.

Sasuke shifted through some of them, until one of them particularly caught his eye.

It was a large newspaper clipping. It was a fairly large article, with a large photograph in the centre with a generous portion of text around it. Some of the text had been highlighted with red ink. The raven's dark eyes shifted to the photograph and studied it carefully. It was a headshot of a young man, with dark unruly hair spiking up in slight curls. His dark eyes glimmered brightly at the camera, and his mouth was slightly turned up in a smile.

Sasuke recognised him instantly. He turned his head up to look at his brother. "Itachi... this is..."

"Cousin Shisui, yes," Itachi finished his brother's sentence.

Sasuke looked at the photograph again, and slowly found himself going on a trip down memory lane.

He remembered Shisui well from his childhood. He was kind and generous and was very close to the brothers, especially Itachi. He was very intelligent and smart, and a prodigy in his own right. Since he was older and had more experience, he seemed to be the only one (that Sasuke knew, anyway!) who was always one step ahead of Itachi. In a sense, Shisui was Itachi's rival, but at the same time his best friend, pretty much like what Naruto was to Sasuke.