Well, I'm here today with my very first story. I've had this idea for a while and finally decided to write, I hope you guys like it.

A new case…

Husband had cheated on his wife.

Cursed with horrible nightmares.

An accident that could have been avoided.

Death…

Unleashing the spirit.

"W-What the hell is that!" A man exclaimed as he fell on his butt and moved backwards with a look of terror on his face.

He looked everywhere on the small dark room with dim red lights that only showed a bit of the walls he had seen every morning. Everywhere but at the… thing.

Thing.

That thing in front of him. His hands trembled and his entire body shook when hearing a growl and, against his better judgement, he couldn't help but turn his attention to it. A sob escaped his lips as he looked up and instantly screamed in terror.

The form of a woman, ghostly white and with no legs, stared him down with her pitch black eyes. Her hair swayed to her side, as if by a breeze, as did her entire blood-covered form.

"Why did you do this to me..?"

Tears streamed down the man's face. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry…" his eyes snapped closed, too terrified to look at the thing anymore, "I always loved you! Please forgive me!"

She only growled, narrowing her eyes at him as she slowly approached him, floating across the small room as the man looked away and muttered quiet things to himself while his entire form trembled.

"Wow, you're an ugly one," a new voice pointed out, relaxed in contrast to the man that had been reduced to a muttering mess.

A hiss emitted from the ghostly white woman as she snapped her head to the side, glaring at the intruder. It was a teen with his hair a light shade of red due to the lights. His blue eyes were calm as he moved closer to her.

He reached a hand for his back where a backpack hung open with many scrolls sticking out. The woman hissed before shooting at the teen with no warning. A grin formed on his face as he pulled out a piece of paper with markings before putting it in front of him, as if to protect him from the woman.

Light filled the area as the woman got close to the paper, which shined brightly. The teen smirked as the markings peeled off the paper and floated towards the woman, growing in size and surrounding her.

"Bind!"

The marking spun around the woman before closing in to her and wrapping around her, making her yell out as she fell on the floor. She trashed against the hold, screaming out curses at the intruder. The markings wrapped tighter around her before beginning to glow along with her body.

Holding out his open hand, the teen hardened his eyes on the woman before closing his fist, "Kai!"

Light filled the area, making the teen shield his eyes as a gust of wind picked up on the small room, making him stagger backwards. Soon the wind died down along with the light, much to the relief of the teen. He uncovered his eyes and looked at where the woman had been, now nowhere to be seen, only leaving behind the paper he had used, now with half of it burned off.

A smile formed on his face as he nodded to himself before turning to his client, still cowering in a corner of the empty room.

"Hey, we're all done now," he called out in a bored tone.

This man had asked for their services since he was being haunted by the spirit of his dead wife. He had apparently cheated on her and when she found out, had stormed out of the house and gotten in a car accident. A tragic tale but it didn't have as much impact when he had seen it hundreds of times, his line of work made it that way.

"You don't have to be scared anymore, she's gone," he assured the cowering man. Sighing, he approached the man and held out a hand which the man took before getting up. "Anyway, I have to get going so pay up." He reached into his backpack and pulled out a small notebook, flipping through the pages before coming to a stop and showing it to the man, "See... Here's what you owe."

The man only whimpered, wondering just what the hell had happened.

Naruto: The Sealer

Caged Bird Part 1

'It's freaking hot.'

It was the first thought that crossed the teen once he set foot outside the small apartment he had just bee in, having to help out the guy with the lingering spirit of his wife. Completely incredible and unbelievable to normal people but, then again, he wasn't you're average person. Not one bit.

He was a trained Sealer after all, though he was still only a beginner since his teacher refused to give him more dangerous assignments, but that didn't matter. Taking down spirits and... well he hadn't done much else yet but he was sure that he would in the future. His teacher/boss had said so himself even though he spent more time in questionable bars and trying to find good looking woman, but he was a teacher first... at least he thought so.

The teen, now leaving the apartment complex, continued to walk with his hands in his pockets. His blond hair, having seemed red on the small badly lit apartment, bounced with each step he took, as did the collar of his white unbuttoned dress shirt with an orange t-shirt underneath.

"I didn't even get time to get home after school finished..." he muttered to himself with a scowl. With his right hand already in his black pants' pocket, he pulled out the rolled up cash he had gotten from his latest job. "Let's see..." he counted the money and split it equally before putting both amounts in different pockets, as to not get confused later.

His boss/teacher had been good with giving him half the money for the jobs and, while not the usual part-time job, the pay was okay. Getting rid of 'bad luck' as his boss/teacher liked to call it, in order to avoid getting too much attention, should probably cost more but his boss/teacher was pretty lax with the prize.

But it wasn't like he only got money for his services. Along with the money, his teacher/boss would also train him free of charge. Hell, he even lived with the guy, his parents having died when he was young though he couldn't remember them. So, his teacher/boss/guardian more than paid for his services.

His training had started when he was really young, his teacher/boss/guardian saying that the earlier he started his training, the better. And, while he wasn't that good of a Sealer yet, he was still getting somewhere. A Sealer is a person who could handle most supernatural creatures that plagued humans and he, being only a beginner, was able to deal with average spirits without much trouble. But he still wished to face a stronger supernatural being. He liked being a Sealer but things were getting dull.

'Oh well...' he thought, 'Maybe I'll get him to train me when I get back.'

The teen made it to his home/workplace with a relieved smile, happy to finally being done with his day.

It was a two-story home with its walls being a cream color. On top of the wooden front door hung a sign reading, 'Corner Shop,' not the best name in his opinion since they received some weird customers due to the shady name. And, of course, the fact that the place wasn't even in the corner of the street, it was right in the middle! Just how the hell did teacher come up with the name?

Sighing to himself, he opened the door to the place, not surprised to see nobody there upon entering. A few chairs were lined up against the wall opposite to where a counter stood with a register on the corner. Behind it was a doorway, covered in a blue curtain which is where the teen went, brushing the thing aside as he moved deeper into the home.

He took off his shoes upon reaching the familiar wooden floor hallway. "I'm back," he called out as he took off his backpack and set it next to the shoes before walking into the hallway, making his way to where the living room was.

The living room was not small but not big either. It was a plain room with a TV in the corner, a small coffee table and a single long couch that stood before both. On the side was a sliding door that overlooked their garden which wasn't that big though it had a few plants and flowers.

"Why does he always do this?" The teen muttered to himself when he noticed the person laying on the couch.

A man with long white hair, wearing dark grey pants and a grey kimono shirt underneath a red coat. The man's eyes were closed but red markings that went down to his shin were still visible.

A snore emitted from the man's lips, making the teen sigh angrily.

"Wake up already!" He nudged the man with a tick mark on his head. "You're going to make the couch smell like old man!" The man stirred but didn't wake up, "Dammit! Wake up already!"

The teen continued to nudge the older man before his eyes finally opened slowly. Seeing this, the teen stopped and looked at his teacher/boss/guardian with a frown.

"Naruto…" the man grumbled as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "You're done with the job already?"

Naruto crossed his arms angrily, "Of course I'm done, it was way too easy. Can't you find me something else, Jiraiya-sensei?"

The man in questioned rubbed his beard, "Hmm?"

"I said, can't yo-"

"Oh, I heard you," Jiraiya spoke calmly. He took a moment of silence, watching as his student seemed more impatient with each passing second, "But…"

Naruto's right brow twitched as he fought the urge to yell at the man. He always did things like this, taking his time to answer a simple question. One time it had taken him an hour to get an answer since Jiraiya kept dancing around the question.

"Have you heard that it's going to rain in a few days?"

"Don't talk to me so casually out of nowhere!" Naruto exclaimed, finally having enough. He pointed an accusing finger at the man before continuing, "Stop dancing around the question by saying things you would expect of two old acquaintances that have nothing to talk about."

"You're right," he admitted as a smirk formed on his face, "But the rainy weather really puts me down. And, unlike the younger generation, I don't like to run around the rain for no reason."

Both his fists clenched as he stared down the talking man, "That has nothing to do with anything and you adding on to the weather thing doesn't change things, it's still just a useless conversation."

"No conversation is useless if the goal is getting information. Even when we're talking right now, you're learning something new. Like the incoming weather."

"Fine then," Naruto growled, "What if I already know the information you're giving me? That means that this conversation is of no use to me, right?"

Jiraiya raised a brown, "And where did you hear about the weather?"

"The newspaper!"

"Ah, so if the newspaper tells you of the weather then there's the possibility of it changing suddenly without the newspaper being able to tell you until the next day," he pointed out, "So this conversation is no more useless than reading the weather in the newspaper."

"Fine. Fine." Naruto groaned as he slapped a hand to his forehead, "Just answer my first question."

The man moved to a sitting position and crossed both arms, "I refuse."

"Why do you never let me take tougher cases?"

"You don't have the experience yet," Jiraiya responded, "Get that experience and then you can take the tougher cases."

Naruto grinned, "And where do I get that experience?"

"You have to encounter something stronger than the spirits you usually handle."

"But you don't let me take any tougher cases!"

Jiraiya shook his head. "Find one first. You don't have to defeat it, just encounter it," he explained, "These things can't be rushed so, when the time comes, I'll train you so that you can take other cases."

The teen sighed as he hung his head in defeat, "Okay then, I'll wait."

Jiraiya nodded before raising to his feet and walking into the hallway, leaving Naruto alone in the living room.

He sat himself on the couch, his nose scrunching up in distaste at the smell the old man had left behind. A scowl formed on his face as he thought about what Jiraiya had said, though knowing by now that he mostly lied when it came to these things. It made him wonder if Jiraiya really had other jobs pending.

Of all the time Naruto had lived in the place, he had never seen another Sealer, much less one close to Jiraiya. It was a bit odd since his teacher/boss/guardian liked to boast about being popular in his line of business.

'Who cares?' He shrugged before reaching for the remote on the coffee table and turning on the TV to distract himself.

The sun shone brightly on the streets, illuminating the many buildings of Konoha, Naruto's hometown. It was a pretty environment friendly place since it kept a lot of trees around town and hand't built too many tall buildings.

On a street next to a river walked Naruto, dressed in his school clothes though now also wearing the black jacket that finished the uniform.

'It's freaking hot again…' he frowned deeply as he loosened up his tie and pulled out an envelope in order to fan himself.

Jiraiya had given him the envelope before leaving, saying that it was a new case which he needed to take care of. A man had requested their help since he had really bad luck. It didn't sound too dangerous but he guessed that there was something left out.

"If it isn't the young Naruto!"

Brow rising in confusion, Naruto raised his gaze to see a teen with black hair kept in a bowl cut, moving towards him with a smile.

"Hey Lee," he greeted without much enthusiasm.

The other teen didn't seem to notice and smiled wider. "I see I caught you going to school," he took in a deep breath and gave him a thumbs up, "Quite the good thing to do, being early to class I mean."

"Right…" Naruto responded lamely, wondering why Lee was talking to him.

Lee was known as a star athlete and was quite popular with the younger classes. His grades weren't too bad, at least he heard, but that didn't mean that he didn't try. Even announcing that he was going to be the top student one day, though it never happened. Instead, he turned his attention to the kendo club as well as the track team, excelling in both.

So it was a bit strange for Lee to be talking to him.

"I couldn't help but notice that you haven't been coming to school lately," Lee went on, now with a disapproving look on his face, "That is the behavior of a delinquent and I won't let a good friend turn to such a life."

He proceeded to punch a nearby wall, leaving a large dent. Naruto gulped, watching with wide eyes as Lee went on talking.

"As your friend, I'm going to make sure you go to school!"

"N-No problem," the blond responded while looking at the wall in pure fear. "I wasn't planning on going somewhere else and skipping school, even if I'm getting money out of it."

"Huh?"

Naruto smiled nervously, "Never mind that Lee, in fact let's have a contest right now."

"Contest?" Lee's eyes lit up at the word.

"Yeah," the blond declared as he pointed a finger at the road ahead, "Whoever makes it to school first will win this contest. You might be the star of the track team and an amazing athlete overall but don't count me out yet."

"Alright then, let's go!"

Lee shot off the ground, running through the streets in such a speed that he kicked up clouds of dust. Naruto watched him leave before pocketing the envelope and turning the next corner, the home of his client was there after all.

So, after having outwitted Lee who would undoubtedly be back later, Naruto began his trek through town once more. He planned on visiting his client and then go out to look for stronger supernatural beings later.

"Naruto!"

His eyes widened, recognizing the voice as that of the girl he had grown up with. The same girl that looked at him as a little brother and had got him to do the most ridiculous things when he was younger. Even now she liked to treat him like a little kid which made him fear for his dignity whenever she came close.

"H-Hey Tenten."

The girl, slightly taller than him and having her brown hair in a pair of buns, smiled at him. Her white shirt fluttered with the wind as she came to a stop in front of him, her black skirt swaying as she did so.

"Naruto-chan!"

Naruto watched as she leapt at him with both arms extended, and he quickly ducked under her incoming hug, taking a few steps back in order to put some distance between them and putting up a hand to stop her from getting any closer.

"Tenten, I'm older now and have gone through the awkward faces of puberty. Greeting me in such a Western way will only end up with people getting the wrong idea about us."

Tenten nodded, "You're right. I'm sorry about greeting you like that."

He looked at her in suspicion before shrugging, "Anyway, I'm on my way to the store. I need to buy something before going to school."

"Ah, I get it. Wanting to buy a sports drink and going to school looking like an interesting person…" she nodded with her eyes closed, "That would surely make you popular in school."

"Have I ever given you the impression that I care what people think?"

She shook her head, "Nope, you're not like that. In fact, you haven't even been to school much and people are starting to call you a delinquent. And is my Naruto-chan a delinquent?"

He rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and looking ahead, "Fine, I get it. I'll go to school more often."

Tenten grinned and waved him good-bye, "Fine then, I have to get going. Just don't be late today, okay?"

Naruto nodded absently and turned on his heels, instantly regretting it upon hearing the sound of rushing footsteps.

"Naruto-chan!"

Two arms wrapped around his torso as Tenten pulled him close and rubbed her head on the back of his while giggling. "You're still the same little boy I met that one day! Screw puberty, you're still so cute!"

"Wah!" He yelled out as Tenten turned him around and snuggled closer to him. His cheeks burned red as she kissed his forehead. "Get off already!" With a heated glare, he pulled away from Tenten, watching as she laughed before jogging away. She threw him a glance and gave him a small wave.

"Well then, see you later!"

With that she left, leaving an embarrassed Naruto behind, feeling as if he had just gotten molested.

That's the end of the first chapter! I hope you guys liked it.

Next chapter will introduce several new characters. I don't want to say names so you just have to wait and see. So, until then.