The Curse Chapter 1, a naruto fanfic

The Curse.

A/N: So may be it is a one shot or maybe not. It would depend upon the feedback. In the next chapter if any, Fugaku and Itachi may also come to visit poor Hina-chan. HAhAHAha.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but this story is my own creation.

Rated M for later.

…

Hinata does not remember when she started seeing them. Maybe since she was 5 years old? Or maybe even before that? She was unable to recall exactly when but one thing was clear she knew when they appeared, they wanted something from her. She had deduced that these souls somehow were unable to cross the land of mortals to the land of dead and thus became a ghost chained to the world where they had no business staying. She was not sure how it worked but these wandering souls were stuck in here and could only pass through the planes when some of their unfulfilled wishes come true.

The only problem though was that they needed a medium that could help them achieve their desires. Her mother always told her that their desires were just like thirst that could not be quenched even after death but Hinata was never the one to deny a needy of water. So Hinata had helped many souls move on and receive salvation. Not that she had any other option because if she ignored them, they would not leave her side until she communicated with them and assisted them. Their demands were small mostly consisting of passing some news to dear ones or just asking her food because apparently their families were moronic enough to never offer the dead some food on their grave. What has the world come to? Hinata would cry listening to their sob stories. So imagine her horror when one night she felt a pair of red eyes watching her from her window.

She knew it was a ghost as the figure was floating in the air and she was quite sure that the ninjas had not learnt flying yet. She was frantic because yes she had witnessed many dead people in her life but none of them ever dared to enter her room except one. She knew who the ghost was, having met her several times during the stupid clan meetings. Mikito Uchiha, the matriarch of the Uchiha clan.

Watchful eyes drifted closer to her. She noticed that Mikito's eyes were now black again, black just like her hair, black just like her dress and black just like her soul. Hinata could not see a hint of light in her and that scared her. Normally these souls were disturbed but they had some brightness covering their head like a halo. Mikito on the other hand had none.

She remembered that the other day her father was discussing about the Uchiha massacre with the elders. They celebrated it like an event, happy that their long-time rivals had turned into dust and now they were the strongest clan in the whole of Konoha. That disgusted her to the very core. Her clan was evil for even thinking like that. The news however unsettled Hinata because that meant more souls might come to her but she had not expected the Uchiha matriarch to give her a visit. She had heard from others that Mikito was a kind woman and a benevolent person so then why was Hinata feeling a sense of dread wash over her? The woman in question hovered closer to her now buoyant parallel to her small body. The end of Mikito's dishevelled hair was tickling Hinata's face. Hinata came face to face with Mikito; her being resting flat on the bed and Mikito levitating above her. The Uchiha matriarch had a Cheshire grin on her face.

Hinata wanted to move, to run from her room and never return. The temperature in the room had dropped a few degrees and that made Hinata shiver. The terrified expression on Hinata's face made Mikito's smile broader. She desperately prayed that the woman would go away. Hinata was sure that Mikito had come to kill the Hyuga heiress because the Hyugas made fun of Uchihas. Oh! But she should go and take revenge on the Hyuga elders. She was just an innocent child.

Dammit!

"HiNaTa"

Mikito called out to her and nodded. The way she said her name gave Hinata chills. Her stomach knotted in fear and Hinata closed her eyes praying to the deities to save her. She felt drops of liquid falling on her face.

Was she crying?

She willed her eyes open and saw blood running down Mikito's face and falling onto hers. She screamed out loud in fear that thrashed her body.

Her father came rushing in and opened the doors to see what crazy antics his eldest was up to this time. Hiashi lifted his eyebrow watching his daughter screech at nothing but invisible air. He rolled his eyes.

"Don't you think Hinata you are too old to be scared of a nightmare?"

What did the old man mean?

She was only eight years old.

But what could she say? Mikito disappeared as soon as Hiashi barged in her room. And her father never believed her anyways. The last time she told him about ghosts and spirits, she was punished badly. Hiashi thought Hinata had picked up some bad habit of lying. She purposely blocked the unpleasant memory of the punishment she received at the hands of her father.

"Sorry Otousan"

Shaking his head, Hiashi slipped past the open door but not before muttering.

"Sleep Hinata."

…

Hinata had lost sleep for many days after the incident with Mikito before finally deciding that it must have been a figment of her imagination. The Uchiha massacre was a big deal in the whole village. Every place she went, she would hear gossips of their brutal murder, almost in hushed tones. She might be hearing it a lot and that was what instilled her nightmare. She was now convinced of it. She never revealed anyone what she saw. Who would believe her? Either they would consider her mad or stupid. She would also admit that she was scared to say anything because she knew talking about the dead was never a good omen. It was scary enough to be haunted by a ghost and it was much scarier to be haunted by dead Uchihas. After months passed with no dead Uchiha in sight, she forgot the whole thing. Until that day..

….

Hinata was so happy. She was going to the school picnic and for months no ghosts came to her with their quirky requests. Another reason for her happiness was that today was the day Hinata decided to confess her love for Naruto Uzumaki over a bento box. Yes, she was nervous but she was excited too. Neji and Hanabi looked at her wondering why she was fussing so much over a picnic. They shuddered remembering she was going to the forest of death … for a picnic. Why were school children being taken there was beyond anyone's wild guess? Oh yeah! Some bullshits about making them fearless. Dumb shit. They concluded that Hinata was weird to be so cheerful about visiting such a place. She had done some creepy things in the past.

Not noticing the strange looks she was receiving, Hinata packed her things neatly in her bag and had already planned in her mind how she would steal the seat next to Naruto. She literally sprinted to the school where the bus stood ready to set out. Teachers were already present and were helping students to settle into their seats. She climbed the bus and her eyes quickly found the sun of her universe that had an empty seat next to him. The blonde waved at her or more specifically at someone behind her.

"Come here, Sakura-chan. I saved you a seat"

Hinata's heart fell and made a breaking sound. Dramatic much. The pinkette moved forward crashing Hinata's shoulder with hers.

"No Naruto. I am going to seat near Sasuke-kun" Hinata's eyes moved to meet with Sasuke's dark eyes and supressed her memories of his dead mother's ghost. She always felt uncomfortable since that night in Sasuke's presence. The Uchiha didn't look very pleased with Sakura's decision.

Before Sakura could move along with her action, Ino bumped Hinata on the way and stopped Sakura, fighting over their precious Sasuke-kun who probably did not give a damn. Iruka rushed to them crashing into Hinata (not again) and quickly broke them apart. He made Sakura sit beside Naruto (there went her plans into the burning pits of hell) and instructed Ino to sit next to a boy who had pineapple for a hair.

Sasuke sat all the way back of the bus. Well he was an emo and he liked quiet and peace. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here but then Hinata remembered that this picnic was compulsory for every student to attend. She scanned the remaining seats and found none. Her initial plan shredded by Iruka and the only remaining seat was next to Sasuke. Her luck was not in her side.

"Hinata. What are you waiting for? Go and take your seat"

Hinata took small and unsure steps towards the last remaining Uchiha who was seated with his head down and eyes closed. Thank God, He would not try to make any small talks with her. Not that she expected him to speak. So she planned to sit next to Naruto and somehow ended up seating near Sasuke.

Ugggh.

She sat with as much distance as she could between them (social distancing,you know) but still felt strong heat radiating off of Sasuke. She looked awkward sitting next to him but Sasuke was far too comfortable for her taste. Suddenly she heard a thudding sound and saw Sasuke's head hitting the glass plane to his left. Hinata stared rattled. Had he fallen asleep? With each bumps on the road his head hit the glass window and Hinata scrunched her face in the second hand pain she felt just by watching him. She was empathic in nature. Okay.

She called out to him but no response. She had suspected him to be a light sleeper but he was a dead sleeper instead. Sighing, she decided to touch his shoulder so he would wake up when the Uchiha suddenly startled her by falling into her lap. His head was literally resting on her thighs.

What the hell?

Stupid Uchiha.

Hinata blushed and was mortified at the idea of what if others looked in their direction. She would be murdered before reaching the forest of death. However, she was also petrified because she remembered that once a girl had tried to bring Sasuke alive from his slumber during a class but instead of a much awaited Thank you, she got a punch to her throat. Needless to say, the girl stopped being Sasuke's fan girl since that fateful day. Hinata in no way wanted the same thank you from him. So she left him by. Finally god had some mercy on her when after some time the Uchiha woke up, murmured a 'Kaasan', 'I love tomatoes' then 'Itachi you weasel', opened his eyes and then jerked away from her in disgust.

Well he was the one to jump on her lap. What was he so disgusted about?

The cumbrous moment did not last long as they reached their destination and Hinata literally jumped out of the bus as soon as it stopped, not even stopping at Iruka's warning. After she got an earful she was left to her own device and so being an adventurous at heart she ventured into the deadly forest. She hungrily took in every detail like flowers, butterflies and mosquitoes. Ah, you just can't escape this blood sucking vampires anywhere in the world but back to the forest; she watched the thick canopies of trees and flying birds. She came across a waterfall but then recollecting Iruka's words of caution to not wander too deep into the woods, she made a U-turn when her eyes landed on none other than the ghost of Mikito Uchiha. What was she doing in the forest and why was she seeing her again after so many months (almost a year)?

Hinata stayed rooted to her spot not because of the spirit of the woman itself but the way she presented herself to her. Most of the ghost she came across looked harmless if anything. They knew that if they scared Hinata, they would not get their yearnings fulfilled but Mikito had something else on her mind. She stood there in front of Hinata with a bloody slit across her neck which bent at an awkward angle as if it had snapped. Blood dripped from her mouth and eyes, drenching her black gown in the process but what distraught Hinata the most was the unusual smile that she wore. It was ethereal and deadly. Hinata trembled like the leaves that danced in the forest. She knew if she didn't move she would be killed. So Hinata ran and ran until her legs gave out under her. Luckily, she made it to the area where most students were. She was heaving as if she had run a full marathon and her classmates gave her creepy looks.

A hand reached out to her and the hands connected to none other than Naruto, the bumbling knucklehead. She quickly took a hold of his hand before he retracted it. She was pulled up to her feet.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-y-yes N-n-naruto-kun"

Naruto smiled at her sloppily with his hand rubbing the back of his head.

"You know you are weird, Hina-chan"

The blond laughed boisterously and Hinata was embarrassed. No, that was not how her NaruHina moment should have been. Yes, she made that name on her own. It had a nice ring to it. Looks like the ship would wreck even before it sailed (at least in her brain). Mikito should haunt the writer of her love story.

That day she dumped the bento into the trash because she did not feel like it was her day. Huh, it was actually one of her worse days frankly. She looked every five minutes to the back of her head, feeling eyes on her.

Okay. So she wasn't hallucinating.

…

The third time when Mikito appeared to Hinata was again after months of break. During this period she was never once visited by any other wandering spirit which was strange. However Hinata would happily meet other spirits over Mikito's. This time she materialized during her shinobi lessons right in front of the class. She called to Hinata's chakra demanding her attention. She was right behind Sasuke, her son's seat. Hinata could not help but worry about Sasuke. Yes Mikito was Sasuke's mother but she was dead and dead called to the livings, luring them to a death trap.

She did not know how long she stared at the ghost lady because Sasuke was now giving her a menacing look. He must be thinking she was his fan girl. But he was not the only glaring daggers at her but the whole class was. She was literally shitting bricks at that point.

"Hinata, Stand up and read the third paragraph of Attack and defense"

Bless Iruka's soul.

…

When Mikito finally spoke to her, Hinata was perturbed but then felt relieved that maybe now Mikito was ready to display her need and move on to the spirit world. Yeah Hinata would help her and she would leave Hinata be forever. So the judgement day had arrived. She never thought it would take what months? Or years? for her to specify her predisposition.

"Tell him I am proud"

Oh no!

Hinata was probably mistaken that Mikito would fancy some expensive food or a drink like wine (she had already stolen a bottle from one of aunts to please Mikito) but no she wanted her to talk with her anti-social son. And already witnessing Mikito's dangerous and powerful aura, Hinata was not a fool to deny the Uchiha matriarch.

...

It was the day of graduation and Hinata now understood the true meaning behind the mother's words. Hinata smiled. So a mother is a mother even after death. Hinata was glad that it was the case. Everyone in her class graduated with a flying colour, obviously Sasuke was at the top. Though her performance was mediocre at best, she was satisfied with her job. She was upset for Naruto-kun for he had been the last in their class. However, that did not deter the blond even a bit so it was all good.

She looked out for Sasuke who stood at the far off corner in the room with his hands in his pockets looking nonchalant. Hinata deciding it was now or never strutted towards him. His obsidian like eyes gazed at her without any regards. She felt small under his microscopic vision. Mikito was standing right in front on the other side. One glance at her and she was determined to set her spirit free from the realms of the earth.

"Your mother is proud of you Sasuke"

There. She finally said it. She felt contended after such a long time.

She did not even have the time to comprehend what happened. One minute she was standing on the floor and the next minute she was pulled into the air, her legs dangling lifelessly.

"What do you know about my mother?"

It was said with such venom that she actually felt numb, stung by the fangs of a snake. She did not expect this kind of reaction from the boy and yes he was volatile but what she said meant well. Then why would he react in such a way?

"Enough Sasuke!"

Iruka chided and just like that she was thrown on to the floor. Everybody gawked at her humiliation and tears prickled her vision. When she looked up, she found Mikito who was …smiling sinisterly at her.

And Hinata found out Mikito was not that benevolent as others had said.

…

Hinata thought Mikito had moved on and found peace. She had done what she wanted. Right? So when Mikito reappeared again after few months, Hinata pulled on her hairs. This was the first time a ghost returned to her after the transpiring of their wishes.

What happened last time was still embedded deep into Hinata's mind. She did not want to repeat the same thing. Sasuke was so livid and he might have harmed her. She was not willing to take the risk again. Her brooding was interrupted when the malevolent mother spoke again.

"Tell him go visit the Uchiha basement"

Another message but Hinata had limits to her kindness and love. Yes she never denied the thirsty of water but maybe her mother was right.

Their desires were just like thirst that could not be quenched even after death.

It is always the first time for something.

"N-nno U-Uchiha-san, I-I can't"

Hinata would not lie but she was in a panic induced state just by looking at the ghost. Mikito suddenly had eyes turned red with tears like blood streaking her face. Her neck snapped suddenly with a pop like sound and the gash on her neck came back with vengeance.

"You can't or you won't, HiNaTa"

Hinata's knees became soft like jelly and she fell to the ground with a loud bang. Her ears were bleeding now and her head felt like it had split into two halves. It was Mikito's doing alright. Hinata was not clueless.

"I could kill you right now"

Mikito was now hovering over her, looking down on her like a powerful god would look at a mere mortal. So fragile.

"I-I-I will do it"

Hinata croaked. Well she did not want to die so early in her life. She had not even become a chunin, jonin or a renowned ninja. She had not even confessed to Naruto. She had not even married or have children. She had not even … Okay you got it.

Mikito smiled the same smile she always had that was pure hell for Hinata.

…

She had been following the Sharingan user with her Byakugan for almost an hour. It was hard to get him alone since his team always hang all over him. She blushed watching Naruto eat ten bowls of ramen from far. Sasuke was quietly eating from his own bowl of ramen while Naruto and Sakura drove the conversation or they were, by the looks of it, debating over something. She could not tell from the tree she was positioned in. She was in the tracking team so it was easier for her to supress her chakra and to keep an eye on the team 7 at the same time. She had to delay her persuasion of Sasuke as at the time either he was on some mission or she was on some retrieval.

What seemed after a long ass time the team separated going in different directions when she finally had the Uchiha alone. She was about to face Sasuke when he turned towards the tree she was hiding in and said,

"Show yourself, Hyuga"

These Uchihas had made her life hell.

Not having any reason to hide anymore, she jumped down on her feet but before she could say anything the Uchiha spat

"I swear if you are another fangirl…"

What… he thought she liked like?

Narcissist.

She put her hands in front of her declining his proclamation.

"Then why are you following me?"

Mikito emerged out of thin air and the air became eerie. She wondered if Sasuke could feel it too, the awful shift in energy.

"I have some information for you"

Hinata lifted her eyes to look at Sasuke, only to find him very near to her. When did he move so close? He was taller than her, at least three good inches. Her face reached his chin. She breathed shallowly expecting the same type of reaction from him as earlier.

"Say it fast. I don't have all the time in the world"

Oh yeah. Right. Uchihas are busy people, busy haunting living souls.

She gathered enough courage and spoke.

"You should go visit the basement of Uchihas"

Sasuke's eyebrows were drawn together and he looked indignant "What did you say?"

"Tell him he will find something that his mother and father have left him there in a red box" Mikito's voice ghosted near Hinata's ears.

"Ano, you will find something that your Kaasan and Otousan have left you there in a red box"

Once again she was snatched by the front of her sweater. Sasuke was almost face to face with her now.

"I will knock your teeth Hyuga, if you are playing some game with me"

"I-I s-swear. I-I am n-not"

Sasuke looked deep in thought as if contemplating some serious life decisions. He must be thinking that she was insane. Heck, she would probably think the same thing if somebody came to her and told her something like this about her dead mother.

"How do you know?"

Hinata looked at Mikito's face. She gave her a nod. Hinata closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Yourmotherdid"

"What?"

Then a bit slowly.

"Your mother did"

She did catch a glimpse of shock before she was plunged into the ground hard just like the first time. The only difference was when this time she peered at Mikito. She was smiling warmly.

…

After a few days, Hinata heard the news that Sasuke had run away. He turned against his own village and was now living as a missing nin under the roof of the snake sanin while Naruto and the others along with Neji, were in the hospital. She could not even apprehend the amount of hurt his team were facing. Sakura-chan had lost all charm in her emerald eyes, they just look sad now and Naruto, and well Naruto did not have that beaming smile anymore. She could not even think what she would do if Shino-kun or Kiba-kun left. She would be devastated.

Hinata laid on a grass field, her face towards the blue sky. Why did Sasuke leave now? What happened that he suddenly decided to leave the village? Was it because of what she said to him? Was it the red box? Was she the one who unintentionally drove him out of the village?

If that was the case, Naruto and Sakura would hate her forever.

In all her deep pondering she missed that a phantom laid near her reading her thoughts. Hinata's musing was broken by the voice that had become very familiar to her.

"Don't worry, he was meant to have it"

Hinata could see a small halo covering Mikito's head. The loud alarm that rang whenever Mikito surfaced was no longer functioning. Instead a feeling close to home took shape in Hinata's bosom.

"I cannot h-help you now, Uchiha-sama"

"He is gone"

Hinata motioned a yes with her head. She now no longer could help Mikito or Sasuke. She had helped them enough. Mikito's light had also returned.

"May be now y-you should move on"

Mikito faced her. The same grin like a Cherish cat returned.

"I will meet you again, HiNaTa"

Mikito waved her hand as if to say farewell. Her body started dissolving before Hinata's eyesight.

But that statement did not sound like a final goodbye. Hinata knew Mikito would return.

…

If you guys don't review, the Uchihas will come and haunt you. Be careful.

Peace and Review. Bye.

So the inspiration for the story is the song 'The Curse' by Agnes Obel. If you haven't listened to the song yet... then what are you guys doing, go and listen. Give the masterpiece some love. You will find some of her lyrics as dialogues in my another story 'The Domino effect'. The song inspired me to write this chapter and also some upcoming chapters of 'The Domino effect'

...

Yes, I write stories while listening to songs. Songs are like poems. Deep and inspiring. So, if you have some song suggestions for me, you can leave them in the review or message me personally. No problem there. I would like to hear more from you guys.