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Chapter Text

“Ah, Summer break. A time for leisure, recreation, and takin’ ‘er easy...unless your me.” Dipper Pines, Season One Episode One of Gravity Falls.

Naruto and Sasuke Pines like to believe they’re living their twelfth year of life to the fullest capacity. They have their own personal hobbies, which include cat-petting in Sasuke’s case and reading mystery novels in Naruto’s. When their parent’s suggest sending them to a summer camp their protests are loud but lacking force, accomplishing nothing but the addition of fuel to their parent’s fire. Their protests lead to their parent’s replacing the summer camp idea with in Naruto’s opinion, an even crazier plot.

Instead of getting sent to a summer camp for some fresh air Naruto and Sasuke’s parents decide that their two children will spend summer vacation at their eccentric uncle’s house. Their parent’s take away all electronics so if they wish to call home they’ll be using their uncle’s wall phone. Instead of cheering as the school year concludes Naruto and Sasuke drag their feet while boarding the bus to a sleepy town in Organ called Gravity Falls.

Their uncle lives in the woods and despite the hundreds of trees surrounding the small shack, the shade that the deep green leaves produce will not block the sun enough to save Naruto from getting sunburn. Naruto is quick to realize that Sasuke had been correct when he said they hadn’t packed enough sunblock. To be fair, Sasuke’s pale skin makes him very susceptible to sunburn while Naruto’s slightly tanner skin tone gives him a false sense confidence when fighting off the sun. Naruto and Sasuke have few familial resemblances to each other. Sasuke has dark hair and eyes, with loose-leaf paper skin, and Naruto is blue-eyed, tan-skinned, and a blonde. Their personalities clash too, and when Naruto and Sasuke tell strangers the fact that the two of them are brothers, their statement is always met with astonishment; of course, Naruto and Sasuke usually leave out the fact that the two of them are adopted. It’s difficult and annoying to explain their adoption to strangers, so Naruto and Sasuke just smile through these types of conversations, leaving out the fact that they aren’t blood-related. Their parent’s adopted Naruto when he was five years old, and Sasuke was adopted when he was seven, but their years apart doesn’t stop them from feeling just as close to each other as the average blood-related to siblings.

After exiting the bus with their luggage in tow, Sasuke and Naruto stumble through a series of small crowds before arriving in the middle of town. It takes the brothers nearly a half hour of wandering through the streets of Gravity Falls to find their Uncle’s shack, and during their trek, Sasuke and Naruto learn that the town of Gravity Falls isn’t exactly a paradise.

While walking through the streets Naruto and Sasuke are quick to give up on waving politely at passer-byers. Naruto’s cheer and Sasuke’s politeness are met with deadened stares, irritated looks, and most of the time downright snubbing. The people of Gravity Falls are not what Naruto would explain as normal, either. Sasuke shoves Naruto’s shoulder, pointing out a man with a completely out of style bowler cut an strange green jumpsuit. “Naruto, what the heck is that guy doing?” Sasuke wonders, vague amusement in his voice. Naruto’s eyebrows scrunch together at the sight he’s met with. The strange man Sasuke had pointed to him is hopping across the sidewalk to avoid stepping on any cracks. He switches between feet and hops along the path, losing balance for a moment before regaining it and continuing down the path with vigor.

“I think he’s dodging the cracks in the ground,” Naruto responds, a hint of laughter and dash of disturbance mingling in his tone. Sasuke scoffs, shifting closer to him. Just as the two of them are about to turn away from the strange man he halts before another townsperson wobbling on a leaning ladder as they paint their house. The bowler-cut man begins crossing the street when a black cat emerges from behind a nearby store in his path. The man glances between the leaning-ladder and the black cat indecisively.

“That’s some rotten luck.” Naruto notes, but when he turns his head, Sasuke isn’t beside him. He tries not to slap his forehead as he quickly relocates his brother, who has scooped up the black cat in his arms and is cooing at the creature with the happiest expression he’s worn the entire trip. Sasuke had been devastated to leave their pet cat back at home. The bowler-cut man gawks at the sight of Sasuke holding the black cat, quickly running, or more accurately jumping back the way he came. Naruto watches him leave before shaking himself off and jogging up the street to join Sasuke.

Naruto figures that the man must devotedly believe in baseless bad luck omens like “don’t step on a crack or you’ll break your mothers back.” or “Don’t cross a black cat’s path.” and another one, “Don’t walk under a leaning ladder.” Sasuke has successfully ignored he whole situation, distracted by the cat in his hands. It’s a definite challenge but eventually Naruto manages to pry Sasuke away from the stray cat his brother had quickly become attached to. Naruto and Sasuke continue their search for their uncle’s house noticing a handful of other strange people on the way. A young girl who has her sweatshirt pulled up to her chin despite the sweaty summer day hustles by them, disappearing behind a building, passing a very angry looking boy who is hunched against a building and clutching a red ball tightly in his hands. Perhaps the most shocking person they pass is the nuts homeless man with long black hair who shrieks gibberish at them while clapping his hands exuberantly. Naruto and Sasuke hop out of the way of a can the homeless man chucks in their direction. After the encounter with that old man Naruto and Sasuke decide it best to hurry down the street at a much faster pace than before. Far too disturbed to ask someone for directions, Naruto and Sasuke end up wandering for quite a while. Along the way Sasuke points out an advertisement on the windowsill of an antique store. The add is for some sort of tourist attraction that has an address that matches their uncle’s. They take their chances and follow the advertisements instructions.

That’s how they realize that their Uncle Kakashi’s house is rickety, old, and worst of all, a tourist attraction. Good ole’ uncle Kakashi has renovated his home into what he calls the Mystery Shack. The building is almost in shambles, tucked away in the forest, completely absent from the rest of society. Upon entering the Mystery Shack Naruto and Sasuke are greeted with the sight of their uncle yelling at an empty cash register. Their parent’s had warned them of Kakashi’s eccentric personality but they had neglected to explain the peaking level of crazy their uncle actually is. Once their uncle has finished with his shouting, he turns to them with a tired roll of his shoulders. His uncle is wearing a costume of sorts demonstrating just how dedicated he is to the theme of his Mystery Shack gift shop. Uncle Kakashi sports an eye-patch and a face mask that pulls up over his nose, the only visible part of his face his uncovered eye. In contrast, their uncle also wears a relatively formal business jacket and slacks. Naruto shares a look with Sasuke. Their uncle, having heard the annoying ding of his shop door, turns to them with a large smile. “Oh!” Uncle Kakashi crows, “Customers! Prepare to be amazed...” He begins, reaching behind him to show them something. Sasuke is quick to interfere, laughing awkwardly.

“Actually,” Naruto’s brother corrects, “We’re-” he’s cut off by a loud shout of joy from their uncle, who up until now, they’ve never even seen before.

“Right, right, I’ve been expecting you two! You runts are my nieces...or I mean, uh, my nephews...” he laughs squinting and leaning forward. “Ha! Sorry about that, the eye-patch really hinders my vision.” He taps the black patch covering his eye with his forefinger. Their crazy uncle then spins around and points sternly at the still-empty cash register. After a moment of intense glaring at nothing, Uncle Kakashi turns to them as if nothing is wrong, absently cracking his neck. Sasuke heaves his bag onto his shoulder, sending Naruto a helpless shrug.

Naruto and Sasuke are lead upstairs by their crazy uncle and shoved into a dusty attic. Uncle Kakashi unceremoniously declares, “You’ll sleep in here!” before disappearing out the door and back down the stairs. Kakashi’s footsteps are loud and obnoxious, and Naruto waits to relax until the sound of his uncle’s walking fades. Across from Naruto in the cramped attic Sasuke grumbles under his breath as he unpacks his bag. Sasuke hisses and retracts his hand from the bed, peering closely at his finger.

“And I already have a splinter.” Sasuke huffs while plucking out the splinter and tossing it back on the ground carelessly. Naruto’s brother continues to unpack and rummage through his bag. Naruto crosses his arms, leaving his bag untouched and examining the small room. The attic is nothing special, small with a weirdly shaped ceiling and creaking floorboards. Two single beds are pushed against both walls parallel to each other and the only source of light in the room is a large oddly designed window that sadly lacks a curtain. Naruto uncrosses his arms with a sigh and begins to remove his things from his bag, startling as a spider scurries out from underneath his bed. He quickly smashes it with a mystery novel with the enticing title of “The Case of the Caper Case Caper.” He then glances around to see if he can spot any more venomous arachnids invading his new bedroom. Eventually Naruto looks under Sasuke’s bed, scanning the area critically. Sitting back on his haunches, having found no more spiders, Naruto sighs. His sigh grows further exasperated as he watches Sasuke hiss and retract his hand from the bed once more, another splinter lodged into his finger. This summer is going to a drag, Naruto thinks to himself.

...Or so he’d thought.  

It seemed like a normal day at the Mystery Shack. Tourists were flitting in and out of the shop like bugs to zappers, oblivious to Uncle Kakashi cheating them out of their money. After watching Kakashi mash a few absurd ideas together and actually make money off of the gullibility of the tourists, Naruto is fully convinced their uncle is a master conman. In just the few days he’s been here his uncle has sold an assortment of rubbish for ten bucks or more when half the crap isn’t even worth a dime. The most impressive thing he’d watched his uncle sell had been a taxidermy “unicorn,” which in reality had been a moose head with a sparkly horn glued to it.

Earlier this morning Naruto and Sasuke had shoveled down some cereal without milk for breakfast before being ushered into the gift shop by Kakashi, who is currently living up to the title of Crazy Uncle.

 “I know you can sweep better than that!” Kakashi points an accusatory finger at the dormant broom leaning against the door frame. Sasuke stops fiddling with gift shop items and walks over, observing the scene. “I said sweep!” Their uncle screeches, his shouting earning him a weird look from one of the tourists who’d been eyeing up a jar of fake eyeballs. Kakashi points at the broom accusingly as if expecting the inanimate object to move on its own. Sasuke sends their uncle a disturbed look before grabbing the broom off the wall and beginning to sweep. Their uncle nods looking satisfied that the floor is being cleaned.

His satisfaction doesn’t last long. Uncle Kakashi spins around to face Naruto, peering at him through his uncovered eye. Uncle Kakashi lifts up his finger and commands, “Wait here.” He hurries through the hallway, leaving Naruto to stare awkwardly after him. When his uncle comes back a few moments later, he’s got a stack of arrow-shaped wooden signs in his arms. Uncle Kakashi clears his throat, “I need you to hang up these signs in the spooky part of the forest.” He declares, and Naruto guesses that he’s smiling cheekily, but he can’t tell for certain because of the mask their uncle wears. Naruto has long-since realized that the eye patch their uncle wears isn’t just to follow the mysterious theme of the Mystery Shack. Naruto hasn’t once seen Kakashi remove his eye patch nor the face mask he wears pulled up to his nose, even during meals. But after spending the past few days obeying their crazy uncle’s demands, he’s beginning to pick up what makes the man happy even without being able to see him smile. Forcing labor onto Naruto has consistently made pleased Kakashi throughout the few days Naruto’s spent helping out at the Mystery Shack.

Naruto grumbles as he accepts the signs from his uncle’s hands, the wooden weight heavy on his noodle-arms. Kakashi also passes him a hammer and a handful of nails he only barely manages to grab onto. One of the nails clatter uselessly to the floor, but Naruto can’t be bothered to pick it back up. His uncle’s shack is already a safety hazard. There’s no use in trying to protect visitors feet from one loose nail when the floorboards already produce plenty of them. 

As he exits the Mystery Shack Naruto manages to keep ahold of the signs, the hammer, and the handful of nails his uncle gave him, that annoying ding following behind the gift-shop door. He readjusts his arms and trudges into the woods hanging sign after sign. By the fifth sign Naruto runs a hand through his hair and groans. By the tenth, he’s changed from the system of placing the signs twelve feet apart to hanging the signs on trees that have grown side by side. It’s not like anyone is going to be wandering around here anyway, why does his uncle need directional signs for the Mystery Shack in the, quote, spooky part of the forest?

Naruto places a nail on the tree and swings his hammer down halfheartedly, startling when instead of a thump he hears is a clang. He taps the nail with his hammer again and confirms that the ringing noise hadn’t just been his imagination. Dropping the nail and hammer, Naruto places his hands against the bark of the tree and knocks once. It feels like metal, he thinks to himself. A distinct click followed by the sound of compressed air releasing causes Naruto to wrench his hands away from the tree. He examines the tree and sees a slight shadow, able to make out the shape of a door. Slowly, Naruto opens up the bark, gasping in surprise. Where Naruto had been trying to hammer in a sign is a small compartment in the tree. He glances around himself subconsciously, despite being completely alone. Then Naruto opens the hidden door up the rest of the way. 

Inside the compartment rests a vintage looking radio with an assortment of switches and a speedometer. Naruto instinctively reaches out and fiddles with the device. After flicking a switch, he turns around at the sound of loud clanking. On the forest floor is another compartment. He claps a hand to his mouth in excitement, rushing over and peering inside. There is a small red book with a familiar insignia on the cover. Naruto recognizes the insignia as the symbol of the Uchiha Clan, the clan he and his brother are distantly related to. Their parents haven’t ever talked about it much.

He leans down, reaching his arm into the square-shaped hole, wincing as cobwebs cling to his skin. He pulls out his arm and cradles the book in his hands, blowing off excess dust. Turning the leather-bound cover over, Naruto raises a confused eyebrow. Inside the first page is a small mirror on a chain, but the page itself is left blank. As he turns blank page after page he grows more and more bewildered. Who would go through the trouble of hiding a blank journal? Naruto asks himself. He shuffles the pages all the way to the back of the book, not an answer in sight. Naruto runs a hand through his hair and looks back towards the Mystery Shack, and then to the signs on the floor that his uncle told him to hang. He glances back down at the book with pursed lips, thinking.

“Naruto!” Sasuke’s voice shouting in his ear makes his heart skip a beat. He gasps in surprise and clutches the journal to his chest, catching his breath. Naruto looks at Sasuke’s smirking face with a relieved sigh. Sasuke’s smirk turns into a raised eyebrow. “What are you reading, loser...some nerd book?” he guesses.

Naruto swallows, relief vanishing. He turns to face his brother, hiding the book behind his back. “Uh, uh, it’s nothing!” he’s not sure why he’s trying to hide the book from Sasuke...the book just feels...special, somehow.

Sasuke snorts, waving his arms around. “’Uh, uh, it’s nothing!’” he mocks, laughing quietly. “Are you actually not going to show me?” Sasuke questions with a tilt of his head.

Naruto looks to the book thoughtfully. It’s strange to find a compartment in a tree, and even stranger to find an empty book hidden inside of it. He looks up at Sasuke and decides that there’s no way he can possibly keep this exciting story a secret from him. Naruto nods. “Okay, but let’s go somewhere private, you know?”

Sasuke shakes his head. “Whatever you say, Naruto,” he agrees.

After the two of them have finished hanging their uncle’s signs, a chore that much faster with Sasuke’s volunteered help, Naruto watches Sasuke hop onto the arm of their uncle’s living room sofa. Sasuke reclines his feet on the side table and takes a sip of pit cola. Naruto chooses to stand, still staring at the book with curiosity.

“It’s strange. I found this book hidden in the woods,” Naruto explains, “But it’s completely blank.”

Sasuke pauses, setting down his pit cola. “But who would bother to hide an empty book?” he hums to himself. Then he holds out his hand demandingly. “Give it here.” He demands.

Naruto complies, passing the book over to his brother. Sasuke opens the first page, giving Naruto a weird look. “And where did you say you found this?” he wonders. Naruto doesn’t get the chance to answer. Sasuke gasps and drops the book, hands flying to his eyes with a startled cry. Sasuke loses his balance and flops over into the sofa, head banging against the opposite arm rest. He winces and groans. Naruto hurries over to him.

“Sasuke are you okay?” he asks worriedly. Sasuke rubs his eyes as he sits back up. Sasuke blinks at him and its Naruto’s turn to gasp. Sasuke’s normally dark brown, almost black eyes have changed. What were once ebony is now inky black, a strange red pattern centering itself in the middle of Sasuke’s pupils. Sasuke’s eyes look freaky, like they came straight out of one of Naruto’s favorite mystery books.

“Yeah, just got dizzy...” Sasuke mumbles, oblivious to the change in his eyes. He stiffens at the shocked look Naruto is giving him. “What are you looking at?” Sasuke snaps, crossing his arms with a huff. Naruto swallows.

“Um, nothing...yup...everything is fine...” Naruto tries to reassure, inching away from Sasuke. His mind whirs as he contemplates the proper way to explain that Sasuke’s eyes have completely changed color. He realizes that his mouth is gaping open and snaps it closed, staring at his brother silently.

“What?” Sasuke insists, glaring at him viciously.

Struck with an idea, Naruto hurries over to grab the book Sasuke had dropped on the floor moments earlier. When he lifts the book off the floor out falls the chain with the mirror connected to it. He hurries over to Sasuke and passes him the mirror. Sasuke gives him a confused look before instinctively staring at his reflection. Sasuke jumps back. “My eyes!” he hisses. He stands up and rips the book out of Naruto’s hands aggressively. “What did you do to my eyes, loser?” he shouts. Naruto winces at the raised volume of his brother’s voice, knowing that Sasuke is more of a quiet person. It’s never a good sign when his brother raises his voice. Luckily Naruto is saved from his brother’s rage when Sasuke looks down at the book in his hands with sudden interest. Sasuke sits back down on the couch with awe, eyes scanning the first page furiously.

Naruto pauses. “Wait...is that, are you reading from the book, Sasuke?” he wonders excitedly, shoving his brother over to sit beside him on the couch and stare at the book. Sasuke passes him the book and gives his eyes a second look in the mirror, studying them anxiously. Their uncle’s shouting interrupts their conversation. They whip their heads around to stare in panic at the door, Sasuke shoving the book behind him hurriedly. Uncle Kakashi sounds likes he’s in a furious argument, but the two of them learned a few days ago of his tendency to shout at nothing. Sasuke gives him a disturbed look, before shaking his head and pulling back out the book. Naruto places a hand on his pounding heart and breathes a sigh of relief that their uncle hadn’t walked in on them. It would’ve been near impossible to explain Sasuke’s changed eye color.

“The insignia of this book...” Sasuke begins, “Is that the Uchiha Clan, Naruto?”

Naruto nods, running his hand over the journal. “Yeah...mom and dad always said we were related to them...” he turns to his brother, strangely accustomed to the new look of his brother’s eyes. It suits him, Naruto thinks decisively.

Sasuke touches his eyes, swallowing. Then he turns to him with a smirk. “Guess it wasn’t a nerd book after all, Naruto.” He teases.

Naruto growls, shoving the book back into Sasuke’s arms with an angry huff, “Are you going to read the book or not?” he complains, glancing suspiciously towards the sound of his uncle’s continued rambling. “Maybe it’s got something in there about those weird eyes of yours,” Naruto reasons.

“Oh, right. Well, it’s a journal. The handwriting is a bit hard to make out...” Sasuke jerks at the sound of a particularly loud shout from their uncle down the hall. His surprise morphs into a wince. Naruto motions for Sasuke to continue.

Sasuke straightens his back and begins reading, attempting to ignore the distracting sound of their uncle’s voice. The book starts out in the point of view of the author. “I have discovered that the reason for the gloom of Gravity Falls is the residual spirits of those who died...in other words, ghosts.” Naruto leans forward eagerly. Sasuke’s reading becomes more avid and he clutches the book tighter in his hands. “These hauntings can vary in severity depending on the unrest of the lost soul. It is to my understanding that Gravity Falls has made some sort of barrier between the dead and the afterlife, preventing souls from moving on. Gravity Falls is a true ghost town.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa...” Naruto holds up a hand, stopping his brother from continuing. “Are you saying that our uncle isn’t crazy?” Naruto guffaws. The idea is entirely reality-altering, but looking into Sasuke’s suddenly red eyes, Naruto can believe it. Naruto can believe in the haunting of Gravity Falls.

They hear more shouts emerge from the kitchen, followed by very loud banging.  Naruto turns towards his brother with wide eyes, laughing in shock as they simultaneously scramble out of the chair. With the realization of potential ghosts in Gravity Falls, it could be possible that their uncle is communicating with them. It could be possible that the theme of the Mystery Shack isn’t just to attract tourists. Naruto is quick to hide the journal behind a pillow on the chair before hurrying towards the shouting. They skid to a stop before the doorway of the room their uncle calls a kitchen.

Their uncle is still shouting like a maniac. Naruto grimaces at the sight of their uncle yelling and waving a piece of toast at nothing but air. It’s definitely the most aggressive their uncle’s been with his delusions thus far. Naruto supposes that they might not be delusions, however. Their uncle could be speaking with a ghost, and the thought makes Naruto giddy. Sasuke just seems confused, though, and Naruto realizes that in their haste they’d forgotten all about Sasuke’s strange eyes. Naruto looks at Sasuke in panic, but Sasuke is clearly distracted, staring in the same direction as Uncle Kakashi. His brother looks hesitant, Naruto notes. Sasuke is rarely afraid of anything in fact, he’s usually quite brash and reckless.

“Who’s the lady Uncle Kakashi?” Sasuke feigns indifference, head tilting. Naruto’s head whips around to Sasuke at lightning speed, eyebrows knitted together with utmost confusion. He looks around the kitchen, but he doesn’t see a lady. A ghost...? Naruto thinks with kindling hope.

Kakashi turns to Sasuke with startled eyes, before casually waving his piece of toast at the air. “Eh? What lady Sasuke? You must be going crazy!” he complains. He doesn’t say anything about Sasuke’s eyes. Naruto knows that his uncle must have noticed the difference. Their uncle isn’t that old. “Uh...notice anything weird, Uncle Kakashi?” he motions to Sasuke. Uncle Kakashi shrugs, his mask and eye patch still firmly in place. It makes Naruto wonder if he had ever planned to actually eat the piece of toast in his hands, makes Naruto wonder if their uncle eats at all. Naruto’s been here five days and he hasn’t caught the mask even slightly out of place. Naruto takes a moment to observe Sasuke’s spinning, obviously abnormal eyes. Naruto squints at his uncle, leaning forward.  “Nothing different...like, on Sasuke’s face?” he questions dubiously.

Uncle Kakashi laughs. “His hair might have gotten weirder, I guess.” He jibes. Naruto turns to Sasuke, expecting him to defend his hair’s honor, but his brother is entirely distracted. He’s staring intently in the direction of the counter stools.

Naruto startles as Sasuke walks forward and holds out his hand for a shake at what to Naruto appears to be nothing. His outstretched hand moves up in down, fist gripping air.  Finally, Sasuke seems just as shocked as Naruto. A shiver visibly runs up Sasuke’s spine and he jerks away, looking at Naruto with a terrified expression. “B-But...” Sasuke swallows, looking down at his hand and then to the empty air.

Naruto looks to his brother and his brother stares back. Sasuke’s lips begin to quirk up, and even though Sasuke’s eye color has changed Naruto can still recognize the excitement in them. Sasuke points a thumb towards himself and then Naruto, declaring, “Sasuke Pines and the one with the dopey expression is my brother, Naruto.”

Naruto doesn’t think he imagines the slight gust of wind that disturbs the stillness of the room, ruffling a few documents strewn messily on the round dining table pushed against the wall. Uncle Kakashi, no longer holding a piece of toast, rubs his neck. “Hey, aren’t you a little old for imaginary friends, kid?” he grouches.

Sasuke glares at him, motioning to a person Naruto can’t see. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Sasuke insists. “You’ve been talking to her this whole time, haven’t you?”

Their uncle snorts as he stumbles over to grab his coat and shrugs it over his shoulders, avoiding their eyes entirely. “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about, kid.” Uncle Kakashi dismisses, and disappears down the hallway and back into the gift shop. Naruto stares after him blankly until he hears the ding of the front door.

Sasuke blinks at the empty doorway. “He’s insane, Naruto.”

Naruto snorts. “You don’t have to tell me twice, or tell me at all.”

Sasuke jumps and turns back around with wide eyes, hand rubbing his head with a shudder of revulsion. Naruto, remembering that there is a supposed ghost present in the room, shifts from foot to foot in excitement. “What did the lady just say, Sasuke? Huh? Huh?” he grabs his brother’s shoulder but Sasuke quickly shakes his hands off. 

Sasuke blinks rapidly, no longer staring at the kitchen stool but staring straight in front of him. Naruto leans in to whisper in Sasuke’s ear. “Is she right there?” he asks, pointing to the empty space before them.

Sasuke stumbles back, red-eyes wide. He leans away as he focuses on something Naruto can’t see. Naruto rages at the unfairness of it all. Even his crazy uncle gets to see ghosts, but he’s left to stand by himself in confusion. “It’s true!” Sasuke snaps defensively, crossing his arms. Suddenly Sasuke’s whole body wracks with another shiver. Sasuke waves his arms about frantically. “Okay, okay! It’s not true, just stop that!”

Naruto groans. “Sasuke the anticipation is killing me! What is she saying?”

“She’s not saying anything!” Sasuke snaps, “She’s just hitting me!”

Naruto pauses, before a grin splits across his face. His shoulder’s shake and soon Naruto is cackling with glee. He raises his hand up, “Whoever you are lady, high-five.” He cheers. Naruto isn’t expecting a painful freeze to invade his head, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut and dizzily massage his temples. “Ugh...” Naruto mumbles. “Sasuke, did she just...?”

Sasuke nods, “She hit you too, Naruto, or well, she tried to. She’s angry that we called Uncle Kakashi insane. She claims he’s a good guy...” Sasuke mumbles something else under his breath, but Naruto can’t catch it. It probably wasn’t very nice anyway. Sasuke clears his throat, running a hand through his hair. “Her name is Sakura, by the way.”

Naruto rubs his neck sheepishly. “Well hello Sakura! Nice to meet you!” he waves energetically.

Naruto doesn’t know if Sasuke is aware of it, but the pupils of his eyes are moving very rapidly. The red and black colors of his ghost-seeing eyes are practically swirling together. Naruto pauses, pursing his lips. Sasuke has begun chatting with Sakura, asking her questions, but Naruto can only hear Sasuke’s side of the conversation. It’s reminiscent to hearing his dad or mom talk into their cellphones back home. In other words listening to Sasuke and the ghost girl talk is understandable but confusing, with the distinct feeling of third-wheeling the conversation. He decides to make himself useful, pulling on Sasuke’s shirt sleeve and scratching his nose with a grin. “Hey, Sasuke, do you think you could talk to your ghost friend in the gift shop? I’ve got an idea.”

Sasuke nods, and to Naruto’s surprise, laughs quietly. He appears to be watching something happen, and Naruto finds himself achingly curious as to what Sasuke’s ghost friend is doing. Naruto tells Sasuke he’ll meet him in the shop, having a sudden flash to the abandoned journal in the other room. He doesn’t feel comfortable with the book just lying around. He hurries into the living room, grabbing the book from under the pillow and tucking the mirror and chain safely back inside. Naruto joins Sasuke in the gift shop, met with the sight of his brother nodding understandingly at what Naruto assumes is the ghost standing behind the cash register. It reminds him of seeing his uncle do something similar upon first arriving to the Mystery Shack. Naruto wonders why his uncle would ever pretend that he couldn’t see her. It’s another unsolved mystery to add onto the compiling list of questions that circle Naruto’s brain.

“Wait, say that again?” he hears Sasuke ask, a grin splitting his lips. Naruto doesn’t let himself feel left out, even though the rest of his family seems to be able to interact with ghosts. Instead he looks around the gift shop for what he’d originally wanted. His uncle owes them something anyway.

He finds a pair of cheap sunglasses on one of the shelves and walks over beside Sasuke to scan the item. He’s completely ignored by his brother, and Naruto rolls his eyes. Sasuke might act aloof, but he’s just as excited as Naruto is to meet a ghost. Naruto finishes scanning the item and yanks off the overpriced tag that reads seven dollars. He walks over to his brother who is still intently engaged in a conversation with someone Naruto can’t see, startling Sasuke by shoving the shaded glasses on his face.

Naruto expects irritation, but what he gets is a haughty smirk as Sasuke readjusts the glasses on his face. Sasuke is excited. “Naruto, perfect, you got the book!”

Naruto tucks the journal closely under his arm, suspicious of Sasuke’s intentions. Sasuke yanks the book out of his grasp anyway, pulling out the mirror. Sasuke glances at his ghost friend with a raised eyebrow, and Naruto crosses his arms huffily. It is so not fair that Sasuke can see ghosts, Naruto thinks furiously.  Much to Naruto’s horror Sasuke presses his fingers against the glass of the mirror until he hears a pop. The glass falls smoothly into Sasuke’s hands. “Sasuke!” Naruto panics, “That was probably magical or something! You can’t just break it!”

“Just watch, loser.” Sasuke smirks at him. He takes the chain and now empty mirror looking up at his ghost-friend once more before nodding resolutely. Sasuke sets the glass aside and wraps the chain around Naruto’s neck. “Alright loser, take a look through the mirror and look right...” Sasuke points just beside the cash register, “There.”

Naruto feels his heart start to pound. He’s read enough mystery novels to assume what happens next. Naruto eagerly looks through the glassless mirror and right before his eyes materializes a girl. She’s translucent, but bright and cheery. The girl has bubble-gum pink hair and wide green eyes. She waves at him, a smirk on her lips that reminds Naruto of Sasuke. Naruto moves the mirror from his eye and then looks through it again watching and re-watching a ghost appear before his eyes. He turns to Sasuke with a wide grin. “Holy crap, Sasuke! Sasuke!!” he shouts, waving his arms about. “Sasuke I can see her! Ugh, how can you be so calm! I just met a ghost!!!” Naruto peers back through the chain and bounces from foot to foot, laughing joyously. “You are so cool.” He compliments the ghost girl.

“I know.” The girl crosses her arms proudly, but her voice isn’t as echoing and melodious as Naruto had been expecting. The ghost’s voice is that of an average girl maybe two or three years older than him.  Naruto feels abashed he doesn’t remember her name. Naruto studies her closer. Framing her ghostly figure is a red sundress that would’ve been very peppy and becoming if it wasn’t for the dark grey jacket she has unzipped over her shoulders. The grey jacket is a bit loose on her wrists, falling over her fingers, and if the jacket were zipped up there would be a big graphic heart in the center of her chest. As it is, the heart remains in two pieces on either side of her. She’s wearing worn out sneakers, and a big red bow to pull back her hair. Her gloomy attire doesn’t match her vibrant green eyes and confident expression. It’s amazing that even transparent the ghost can convey her emotions without speaking. She’s like a real person, except that if Naruto squints he can see through her body to the other side of the room. It’s disorienting if he’s being honest. He doubts Sasuke put nearly as much thought into the appearance of the ghost before them as Naruto has, but Naruto has many questions about the clothes ghosts wear. Can they change clothes? Are they wearing the outfits that they died in? Sasuke can’t even be bothered to further examine his freaky red eyes. If it were Naruto in Sasuke’s shoes, he’d have already had the pattern in his eyes memorized, and he’d have already checked the book to see if his eyes had a name. He thinks about that. Naruto can do those things, actually. He’ll be responsible for Sasuke’s lackadaisical attitude toward the supernatural. Naruto will memorize the shape and pattern of Sasuke’s eyes and Naruto will try reading the book. Assuming that the mirror lets him read the book as well as see ghosts that is.

Naruto turns to address the ghost girl, a contemplative expression on his face as he compartmentalizes his questions and asks the most immediate one on his mind. “How come I can hear you?” he asks, looking through the mirror and then out again. “Can I only hear you if I’m looking through the mirror?” Naruto presses the mirror to his eye, anticipating her explanation.

“Oh, so long as the chain is around your neck you’ll be able to hear me and all other ghosts.” She explains, a grin forming on her lips. It’s strange to watch a ghost grin, Naruto realizes, because her teeth are wispy and see-through, yet distinctly white. Naruto looks her up and down, admiring the peculiarity of her figure. She’s strange, he thinks to himself. He wonders if she had pink hair in real life or if that’s an effect of being a ghost.

“This is so amazing.” Naruto whispers to himself, looking down at the chain around his neck with wonder.

Sasuke turns back to the girl, all business. “Sakura, you were saying there are a lot of ghosts around town? How many is ‘a lot?’” he asks, face deep in concentration. Oh! Naruto realizes. That’s her name, Sakura!

Then Sasuke’s words catch up to him and he gasps. Sakura said that ghosts roam all around town? Why are there so many ghosts in a town as small as Gravity Falls?

“Yes.” Sakura responds. “There are many ghosts...in fact, why don’t you guys see for yourself?” She questions with a clap of her hands. “I’m friends with loads of fellow ghosts! I knew many of them in life, too!” 

Sasuke pushes up his sunglasses, looking unfairly cool in the Mystery Shack merchandise Naruto picked out for him. “Sure, yeah, it’s not like our uncle is around to say no. What do you think, Naruto? Want to explore Gravity Falls?” Sasuke drawls, tossing the journal back and forth in his hands. Naruto confiscates the journal from him, briefly checking to see if his hunch about being able to read it was correct. When words appear on the pages Naruto snaps the book shut in satisfaction and nods at his brother.

“You know I do.” He holds his fist out for Sasuke to bump. Sasuke complies with a smirk, but Naruto can guess he’s rolling his eyes behind the glasses.

Sakura squeals, skipping around the counter and towards the door. He wonders why she doesn’t just walk through objects, but figures it must be a force of habit or maybe walking through objects isn’t very comfortable. It sure hadn’t been comfortable when Sakura put her fist through his head earlier. Naruto follows her, ready to open the door but stopping upon realizing that Sasuke isn’t beside him. He turns around, eventually spinning in a full circle before his eyes land on his brother, who has a merchandise hat in his hand adorned with the town’s leaf symbol, a wall of various other hats behind him. Sasuke studies it closely, looking up at Naruto and then back down at the hat. Naruto’s jaw drops as Sasuke carelessly rips the tag off the hat and approaches him. “Sasuke,” Naruto scolds. “You’re going to get caught. Why do you think I scanned the glasses?”

Sasuke snorts. “What, you think our insane uncle will notice one missing hat? He doesn’t count the hats, Naruto.” Sasuke dismisses, passing him over the blue and white hat. It’s a ball cap, and before putting it on, Naruto moodily readjusts the size, shoving it over his untamable blonde hair.

Sasuke shakes his head in amusement, making Naruto growl. “Alright, but when Uncle Kakashi asks where his hat went, you better fess up!” Naruto compromises.

“Sure, loser.” Sasuke responds, holding the door open for all of them with a dramatic sweeping motion. Naruto storms his way through, Sakura skipping ahead of him. The ding of the shop door rings after their exit.

Luckily, making it to town is easier than finding their Uncle’s shack, mostly because Sakura knows her way around and easily guides them back to civilization. As Sakura leads the way, she points out a tree that has the same wispy transparent look about it as her. “Even trees here in Gravity Falls can come back as ghosts. Open the journal to page seventy-one, Naruto.” She orders, stopping before the tree and staring up at its massive form and winding branches. Sasuke walks a bit past her, brushing his hand against the bark. He shivers, retracting his hand and staring up at the tree curiously. “Does this mean that the whole town will be full of ghost-trees? I mean, at one point the town must have been all forest.” Sasuke reasons, red eyes focused on Sakura. Naruto continues to flip through the pages before landing on page seventy-one, resisting the urge to stop and study all the other interesting pages before it.

Sakura points her index finger in the air and explains studiously, “Gravity Falls didn’t see its first ghost until 1840, and he still lives here today!  I’ve never talked to the oldest ghost in town before, mostly because I’ve heard so many horrible stories about him...” Sakura shudders dramatically. “...but also because I never got the chance to meet him. You see, we ghosts can’t stray far from the place that we died, and I hadn’t heard about him until after I passed on. I heard he died climbing the mountain way out. Not many of us ghosts died close to him, so I’ve worried that he’s pretty lonely.” Sakura bites her lip. “Can you imagine being alone for hundreds of years? I can’t.” She sighs despondently.

Sasuke studies the tree curiously. “So why do ghosts become ghosts? Why not move on?” his brow furrows at her.

Sakura motions to Naruto, and he nods back at her. Adjusting the mirror around his eye Naruto props the book up in his unoccupied hand and begins to read, wondering how his uncle walks around using only one eye all the time. Closing his eye to see through the mirror is already becoming exhausting. Naruto starts reading, “While ghosts are not unique to Gravity Falls, there does seem to be a hefty sum of them gathered here. The average ghost stays on earth due to unfinished business, but in the mysterious town of Gravity Falls there is something else stopping them from entering the afterlife. I have invented the mirror enclosed to allow my colleague (who wishes to remain incognito in my journaling) to see and communicate with ghosts.” Naruto feels excitement bubble in his chest. He suddenly pauses, looking up at the ghost. “Wait, why did you know about the mirror...?” A sudden thought occurs to him, “Did you write this?” he asks in wonderment, showing her the journal.

Sakura laughs, shaking her head rapidly. “No, no I didn’t write that! In fact, I found it when I was really young in an old tree. I put it back in its hiding place before I died...I, I don’t know who wrote it...” She trails off, looking distant. Before Naruto can ask what’s wrong, Sakura snaps back into herself, lips pursed. “Don’t get so distracted, Naruto! Keep on reading!” she commands, her hands on her hips authoritatively.

Naruto nods, laughing sheepishly. “Right uh...The perimeter of Gravity Falls works as a barrier. It keeps the dead of Gravity Falls stuck between the afterlife and the land of living, physically unable to pass on. Many of the ghosts here have been waiting to join their loved ones for decades.” Naruto looks up with his brow furrowed. The information just ended. He turns the page but finds nothing more.

Sakura sighs. “That’s all it says.” She shrugs. “I think there might be more information in the other journals, but I never found them. We have the third one, but I don’t even know how many there are for sure.” She clears her throat and motions to the ghostly-tree. “The point is, here in Gravity Falls, even the trees stay with us. We’re all stuck. So...when you enter the town, don’t expect all the ghosts to be as friendly and helpful as I am. A lot of the ghosts here are bitter and in my opinion, rightfully so.” she turns her head down the road, gazing up at the water tower in the distance.

Sasuke and Naruto nod, eyes meeting. Naruto walks up to Sasuke and absently pulls his new ball cap down on his forehead. Sasuke fiddles with his sunglasses in response. Until they arrive in town they walk in contemplative silence, Sakura’s words and the journal’s information echoing in their minds. Naruto jumps when he first sees the town, quickly picking up the chain and holding the mirror to his eye. Sasuke grunts in surprise, glasses slipping down his nose for Naruto to be able to see his red eyes widen.

The sight before them is unbelievable. The town they’d first seen when wandering around Gravity Falls has completely changed. The people are still gloomy, distant and haggard, but now Naruto can see the dozens of ghosts scattered among the citizens. The girl they’d seen in the hoody before is being quietly followed by a boy with long brown hair and a sad expression. Naruto takes it all in spotting the strange man with a bowler cut hopping along and dodging the cracks in the sidewalk. It’s almost disturbing that Naruto can recognize everyone, as if not just the ghosts are stuck, but the town is stuck as well, following the same old routine day in and day out. The man with the bowler cut hair has a ghost beside him who is walking on his hands, and Naruto doesn’t have to squint to see the family resemblance. The ghost beside bowler-cut man looks slightly aged, with a similar fashion style and haircut. The only difference is the ghost is walking on his hands and the man is practically playing hopscotch with the cracks in the ground.

Sasuke raises his finger, pointing across the street with a tried downturn of his lips. Naruto follows Sasuke’s index finger to see a boy about their age leaning against the wall of a convenience store and holding an old red ball in his hands. Scratching on his knees is a small puppy, panting and begging for the ball. The dog is a ghost, Naruto realizes. Naruto swallows and watches the kid throw the red ball down the street in a fit of rage. His dog chases after the ball only for the toy to go right through him. The dog whines and cries as it desperately tries to fit the ball in its mouth and the kid storms away, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Like I said...not all of us ghosts are happy to haunt our loved ones. Our presence affects them, making it near impossible for them to move on from their loss...Gravity Falls has become pretty gloomy...” Sakura sighs, looking out upon the desolate street in frustration.

Naruto clutches the journal tightly in his hands, lips pursing. Sasuke pushes his glasses back up his nose and huffs. “Well, we wanted to see. Let’s see.” Sasuke declares, striding forward with purpose. He and Sakura follow him, Naruto glancing around and taking note of the ghosts around them. Most of the ghosts hiss upon seeing them, disappearing behind buildings or sometimes thin air. A few ghosts tilt their heads in acknowledgment and go about their day, and even fewer are found following a living citizen. Naruto frowns.

“Hey, Sakura, do all of the ghosts haunt people?” he wonders, eyes widening as a very young ghost looks at them in terror before popping out of existence.

Sakura turns to him. “Oh, well, traditionally all ghosts haunt something. Their will is what tethers them to Earth. Whether that tether be loved ones or unfinished business depends on what ghost we’re talking about. But here in Gravity Falls, a lot of ghosts’ families have also become ghosts, and a lot of ghosts have already completed their unfinished business or didn’t have any reason not to pass on in the first place.”

Naruto nods, humming. “Do you think you would’ve passed on if it wasn’t for the weird curse on Gravity Falls?” he blurts, but instantly feels abashed for his intrusive question. Whenever his mind floods with questions, it’s hard not to let his curiosity get the better of him. Naruto scratches his chin. “Er, I mean, you don’t have to tell me...”

Sakura waves him off, laughing. She walks a bit ahead of Sasuke and him, humming thoughtfully. “No I don’t mind, really...to answer your question, I don’t think I would’ve passed on. I haven’t finished my business here on Earth yet.” She suddenly grins, hopping in front of a store and opening her arms wide. “Ta Da! Icheraku’s Diner is the best restaurant in all of town, trust me!”

He and Sasuke stop walking, gazing up at the local restaurant Sakura lead them to. A few ghosts whoo are snickering at the corner of the building look up at them curiously. Naruto waves and suddenly the ghosts jerk, hurrying in the opposite direction. Naruto wipes his hand on his pants awkwardly. Icheraku’s Diner is unique, and not just for a small town. The shop appears to have been designed to look like a log, rounded and stretching horizontally with rows of shingles acting as bark. There are hanging red and white curtains over a row of windows surrounding the entrance and a big advertisement sign in the front of the driveway. Naruto is impressed with the layout, the chimney on top that is emitting smoke adding to the welcoming atmosphere.

“The place looks good to me!” Naruto tells Sakura, grinning widely. Sasuke keeps his opinion to himself, walking forward and jogging up the steps to hold the door open for them. Naruto and Sakura follow him and slip inside, Sasuke letting the door fall shut behind them. He and his brother take a deep relieved breath of air-conditioned air. It’s strange to see Sakura completely unruffled and unaffected by the summer heat, especially when he and Sasuke are sweating bullets. Naruto wipes the sweat off of his palm and studies the menu, Sasuke rolling his eyes at him with a shake of his head. Naruto defends himself. “What?” he whines, “I’m hungry!”  Sasuke opens his mouth to retort, but gets distracted. Sasuke furrows his furrows and tilts his head, looking towards Sakura’s direction. Sakura looks furious, arms crossed and forehead pinched.

“Is something the matter?” Sasuke wonders. Naruto nervously looks around, but relaxes when he notices how few people are inside the restaurant. It’s unlikely anyone here will take note of Sasuke talking to nothing. Naruto watches Sakura’s glare darken, her lips curling.

“Yes.” Is her clipped response, “That old pervert is at it again.” she hisses. Naruto and Sasuke follow her gaze to see a ghost hiding underneath one of the counters with his head tilted upward, obviously looking up an oblivious woman’s skirt. Naruto glares, arms crossing, and Sasuke shudders, turning away from the scene.

Sakura turns to them with a controlled smile. “Let me handle this.”

The ghost hidden underneath the counter looks vaguely familiar. He has white hair and a wide grin, but the grin doesn’t last for long. When he spots Sakura storming towards him he panics, scrambling through the chairs on his hands and knees. Naruto watches with satisfaction as he is unable to escape in time, Sakura dragging him by the back of his collar and hauling him towards the door. The guy wails, waving his arms about. “Wait, wait it’s not what you think!” he tries to assuage Sakura’s anger only to make the fire in her eyes grow stronger. She hisses, tugging harshly on his collar.

“How many times do I have to tell you Jiraiya? Stay out of my turf! You’re not even supposed to be able to travel here! You’re going to get yourself killed for good!” she shouts, and in a display of great strength swings open the door with one hand and throws the perverted ghost out with the other. “Now, go back to Pein’s grave before I drag you there myself!” she screams, slamming the door in his face. Huffing and puffing, Sakura turns back to them with a wide smile, clapping her hands to rid them of ghostly-dust.

The woman at the counter sets down her drink, brow furrowing. She mumbles something under her breath before finishing off the rest of her glass, ice sloshing at the bottom. “Hey, can a woman get another drink around here?” she calls, peering over the counter and into the kitchen. A tired looking man walks out and grabs her drink for a refill. 

Naruto and Sasuke stare expectantly at Sakura, Naruto the first to ask a question. “What did you mean by ‘killed for good?’” he quotes her words, Sasuke nodding firmly beside him.

Sakura blinks, mouth forming an Oh in surprise. “Right, yeah. If ghosts push the boundaries of how far they’re supposed to travel from the spot of Earth their tethered to, under normal circumstances they’d pass on. But ghosts around Gravity Falls can’t pass on to the afterlife. I’ve seen it happen. The ghosts who leave their boundaries become completely paralyzed, eyes glazing over. We’ve tried returning them to the person or location their haunting but nothing works. They stay paralyzed, unable to return to life and unable to pass on.” Her gaze shifts to the woman on the table, sighing. “Jiraiya was in love with her in life, but she’s not what tethers him to the Earth. He doesn’t haunt her, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting to see her. He might seem like a total jerk, but he’s actually just a guy who wants to see the woman he loves.” Sasuke and Naruto listen intently but startle when they hear a feminine voice behind them.

The voice that startled them is very much alive, standing behind the counter with a wide grin. An elderly man is beside her, a welcoming smile on his face. Naruto and Sasuke wince awkwardly, realizing that similar to their uncle they’d forgotten others can’t see Sakura like them. “How can we help you?” the young woman asks.

Naruto drops the mirror from his eye, taking the lead in speaking to the workers. “Uh, we just wanted to sit down and get something to eat...” he explains, rubbing his neck awkwardly. Sasuke grunts beside him, nodding.

The lady smiles and walks around the counter. “Right this way.” She motions to a nearby table, setting down two menus. She looks the both of them up and down as they sit at their designated booth. “Well you two are adorable.” She gushes, “How long have you been together?”

Sasuke chokes on his spit and Naruto’s expression freezes. He and Sasuke may not be brothers by blood, but never in all of their adopted-family life have they been accused of dating each other. Naruto clears his throat, wincing as Sakura cackles at them while phasing through the table to seat herself beside Sasuke. “No, we’re not...” Naruto explains, motioning between them. “He’s my brother.” he settles on. The woman makes a startled face.

“Oh!” she puts one hand to her heart, waving around the clipboard in her other hand. “My mistake...well, what can I get you two?” she slides a pen out from behind her ear and clicks it brightly. “My name is Ayame and I’ll be your server!”

Naruto fiddles with the menu and gives it a once over. Sasuke looks up at the waitress with a mildly irritated expression. “We’d like a second to look over the menu.” The waitress looks surprised at the request, clicking her pen back and blinking rapidly.

“Oh! Well alright then. Are you two new in town, I guess?” She asks with a hand on her hip. Naruto figures that everyone in the small town of Gravity Falls must have this local restaurant’s menu memorized by heart. Naruto and Sasuke both nod silently, hoping that she’ll go away so they can pester Sakura with more questions. Feeling guilty for not engaging in her small talk, Naruto relents, much to Sasuke’s irritation.

“Yeah, yeah...uh, we’re staying with our uncle at the Mystery Shack.” He explains. His eyes go wide when Ayama laughs cheerfully.

“Oh goodness you boys are staying with Kakashi Pines? And you said you two were his nephews? That’s precious!” she spins on her heel and waves at them as she goes back behind the counter, “Just give me a call when you’re ready, got it?”

Naruto calls back to her, “Gotcha!” He turns back to Sasuke, who’s crossing his arms huffily.

“Loser, we don’t have any money for food.” Sasuke points out.

Naruto throws his arms in the air. “What was I supposed to say?” Naruto makes quotation marks with his fingers, “Sorry lady, we only came into your restaurant because a ghost told us to!” In response to Naruto’s words Sasuke leans against the booth seat moodily.

“Keep your voice down...” Sasuke looks around suspiciously. Naruto stiffens, wincing at the volume of his words. Sasuke turns back to Sakura, “How come you can travel so far around town? And why did you bring us here?” he wonders. Naruto cringes at the sequentially insensitive questions, but guiltily finds himself curious to hear Sakura’s answer.

Sakura shifts on her seat behind Sasuke, ghostly fingers thrumming soundlessly on the table. Naruto has many more frivolous questions, like how come she’s only intangible sometimes? Or another mind-boggling question is if ghosts exist, does that mean there are other supernatural beings out there? He holds his tongue, knowing that he can’t ask everything at once.

Sakura nods, biting her lip. “It’s because my reason for remaining here is the town itself. Of course, there are limitations to this rule. I can only travel anywhere within the town that I’d visited during life. It’s true that some of the ghosts around here travel however they please so long as they remain in the borders of Gravity Falls, and this is because these folk were never meant to be ghosts. They were supposed to move on. However, I’ve found that these ghosts are most displeased with their situations and are usually very grumpy. Jiriaya, the ghost from earlier, is one of the few of us who’s completed his unfinished business. Now he is stuck, lacking any reason to be on Earth any longer. It’s why he finds himself straying.” Sakura then quirks her lips up. “As for your second question, I brought you two here simply because I always go here on my lunch break. I was an employee at the Mystery Shack before I died.” She shrugs her shoulders.

Sasuke hums thoughtfully. Before either of them can ask another question Sakura phases through the table with a screwed up nose, stretching her arms over her head and standing before their table. Naruto can’t help but notice that her eyes, even ghostly as they are, look red and puffy. She seems close to crying. He wants to ask her what’s wrong, wants to comfort her in some way, but feels entirely lost. Sakura sniffles, trying to hide her tears. “Alright, I better get back to the Mystery Shack, okay? The boss is probably lonely without me. You two will be fine here on your own, right?” Sakura doesn’t wait for their answer. She rushes off, phasing through the entrance door.

“Wait-” Sasuke calls, but Sakura’s already long gone. The two of them slump back into their chairs, sighing despondently. Sasuke rubs his eyes behind his sunglasses.

“Nice going, Sasuke. You scared her away.” Naruto grouches as he crosses his arms. Sasuke scoffs, turning his head toward the window. Sasuke swallows visibly.

Sasuke’s eyes sweep across the town, and Naruto follows suit, presses the mirror against on eye and closing the other. Through the window Naruto can see ghosts moseying around just as often as the citizens. Sasuke sighs, “I feel bad for Sakura.” He says, leaning his forehead against the glass. “At least I have you to talk to about ghosts. She found that journal all on her own.”

Naruto hums, agreeing with him. Naruto watches Sasuke’s face for a long moment, his brother staring despondently out the window. He wonders what Sasuke’s thinking about. Finding out ghosts exist is a shocker, and Sasuke has probably already thought about his birth family. Suddenly the deadened look in Sasuke’s eyes sharpens into suspicion. Sasuke leans forward, his face twisting. His brother is growing more and more frustrated by the second. Craning his neck Sasuke peers all the way down the street, “Where is that Jiraiya guy going?” he finally snaps, exasperated. Naruto follows his gaze, spotting the ghost that Sakura had dragged out of Icheraku’s Diner. The ghost, Jiraiya, is slumped over, phasing in and out of buildings in the direction of forest. Naruto can’t see Jiraiya’s face. He watches the ghost almost leave their line of sight and hoping to distract his brother from his saddened thoughts, makes a split-second decision.

“We should follow him!” he jumps out of his chair, journal still in hand, and marches to the door. Sasuke smoothly follows his lead, striding across the room. Sasuke holds the door open for him and Naruto rushes out, hurriedly searching for the strange ghost’s white hair. He spots the ghost, pointing him out to Sasuke. “Over there!”

The two of them hurry down the steps of Icheraku’s Diner, barely looking both ways before crossing the street. Naruto feels himself smile in relief as his brother returns to normal, looking determined to catch the ghost Sakura had known. Naruto matches his determination as they hurry down the street towards Jiraiya.

Sasuke grabs his arm and stops for a moment, slightly out of breath as he speaks, “Check it out.” He advises, motioning around them. Naruto looks around the town with a furrowed brow. Jiraiya appears to be the only ghost heading in the direction of the forest, every other ghost walking towards the town, not away from it. Jiraiya continues on his path, heading for the forest. He and Sasuke share a nod before following him, avoiding the gazes of ghosts and trying to remain inconspicuous.

They make it to the border of the town that breaks off into a small road that travels uphill. Naruto gazes up at the long hill with dread, but he and Sasuke’s resolve strengthens as Jiraiya continues to glide. Growing a bit more tired, Sasuke and Naruto take longer strides up the road in order to keep up with the ghost. The scorching heat makes Sasuke’s cheeks red with sun, but at least the both have a hat and sunglasses to help them see through the brightness. They travel up and up, huffing and puffing exhaustedly, moving as fast as they can to ensure the ghost doesn’t leave their sight.

Naruto and Sasuke make it to the top of the hill, panting heavily, and disappointed when they aren’t met with a downhill but instead a large space of flat ground. The disappointment fades into relief when Naruto notices a decently sized house just across the road, and a driveway that leads up to it. Sasuke points his finger to the expansive lawn of the house, leaning forward in exhaustion. “It’s a graveyard.” Sasuke realizes.

Naruto nods, journal clutched tightly in his sweaty palms. “Sakura said something about Jiriaya going back to a grave.” He recalls. The graveyard ahead of them is massive, rows upon rows of polished headstones filling the spacious area, overgrown greenery crawling up the fence that separates the graveyard from the rest of the hilltop. Naruto observes Jiraiya forgo using the large gate and instead phases through the decorative metal fence, gloomily entering the cemetery. Jiraiya is the only ghost present on the hilltop at all. Naruto supposes not much would tether a person to a graveyard. He and Sasuke begin crossing the long driveway with purpose, heading for the entrance gate. Naruto quickens his pace, realizing the benefits of being in the town graveyard, where plenty of names and dates of those who have died are documented. Most of the engraved names will be names of ghosts that Sasuke and Naruto are likely to meet in the town of Gravity Falls. Naruto wants to learn more about the ghosts, and maybe one of the older ones will know what happened to stop the dead’s entry into the afterlife. If he can find the names, he can look the people up and search for where in Gravity Falls they reside.

Sasuke matches Naruto’s increased pace, wiping sweat off of his forehead. “Hey, knucklehead, what are you thinking?”

Naruto grunts relieved when they make it past the driveway and begin their trek across the sidewalk towards the entrance to the gate of the graveyard. Along the sidewalk path is freshly-cut landscaping and beautiful stone statues with not a speck of dirt on their surface. Naruto responds to Sasuke, “I’m wondering how many of the ghosts here in Gravity Falls are buried in this graveyard.” He admits.

Sasuke hums, pulling Naruto into a stop. “Well,” He begins, “I’m wondering how we’re going to explain to those two people over there why two twelve year olds ran to a graveyard all by themselves.”

Naruto’s head whips around and his heart beats sporadically. He spots a woman and man standing at the entrance of the building beside the graveyard, waving them over with expectant looks. Naruto’s lip curls and he looks to Jiraiya’s ghostly form dejectedly. “Crap...” he mutters. He looks at the house with a confused expression. “Who lives next to a graveyard anyway?” he asks Sasuke.

Sasuke huffs, “That’s not just a home, Naruto. It’s a funeral home.” 

“Oh...” Naruto realizes. They walk forward, waving at the two people who Naruto assumes are husband and wife. Naruto and Sasuke have never had very innocent faces, but they do their best to look as not-guilty as possible. The strangers don’t look upset, thankfully, just confused and perhaps concerned. Naruto and Sasuke make it to the entrance of the building, Naruto rubbing his neck sheepishly. “Sorry,” he apologizes, “Did we disturb you?”

The woman steps forward off of a welcome mat that reads Valentino, a smile on her lips. “Oh, don’t worry about it dear, I’m Janice and this is my husband Greg.” Naruto manages not to groan outright. When people introduce themselves it usually means they plan to interact with you beyond small talk. The woman walks towards them, fiddling with her wedding ring. “What are you two doing out here all on your own?” she questions, and Naruto can see the keenness in her gaze despite her friendly smile. Naruto’s heart is beating so fast he can hardly hear her words.

Naruto isn’t very good at lying. After a beat of silence Sasuke quickly jabs him in the side, unnoticed by the concerned adults before them. “Actually we were doing some research at the library, and it turns out Naruto’s great-grandfather was buried here. We probably should have told our uncle we were coming here, now that I think about it, but Naruto and I go so excited at the thought of being connected to his real great grandpa! We’re adopted, you see.” Sasuke doesn’t smile at them, but Naruto’s got a wide enough grin on his face to sell the story. The woman melts at the unlikely sight of two adopted orphans searching for a dead great-grandfather and turns to her husband, who has a similar disarmed expression. The man clears his throat.

“Well we’re happy to hook you up to the system, if you’d like. We can check our records to see if your grandfather really is buried here, c’mon in!” he motions to the door behind him. Naruto smiles at the couple but sends Sasuke a nervous glance. Sasuke pushes his sunglasses up his nose with pursed lips. They walk forward hesitantly, Sasuke going stiff when the husband claps a hand down on his shoulder. “It’s a really great thing what you’re doing, helping your brother find his grandpa. We adopted a girl ourselves, you know. She always wanted to know who her real parents were, but we never found out. I’m glad you kids have the chance to connect with your birth families.” His wife nods in agreement to his words. Sasuke and Naruto are lead inside the house, dirty shoes and sweaty bodies feeling entirely out of place inside the immaculate building. The smell of strong cleaner hits their noses, and the two of them look down with a wince as the strangers’ polished floorboards get tracked with muddy footsteps. They’re not scolded for the mess, though.

“What did you boys say your names were?” the woman who’d introduced herself as Janice questions.

Naruto grins, “Naruto and Sasuke Pines.” He declares. She giggles.

“What unique names! Your parents must be so creative. We only had the sense to name our girl Sakura, because she came to us with practically pink hair!”

Sasuke and Naruto both freeze at her words. With a shaky swallow, they struggle to comprehend that out of every home in all of Gravity Falls, the two of them have found Sakura’s parents. 

Sasuke and Naruto are lead into a simplistic living room, with a tissue box on the side table of a cream couch, a coffee table with an unfinished puzzle scattered across it, and a TV hung on the ceiling above a modern fire place. Overall it’s almost uncomfortably casual and makes it obvious how forced the happy state of their family is. Just like the Greg and Janice’s smiles show a little bit too much teeth and a lot too much strain on the face. Naruto doesn’t know whether to cross his legs or sit back, nor does he know whether he should lend them a shoulder to cry on or laugh along with their terrible jokes. He’s not sure if Greg and Janice know what they want themselves.

He shifts uncomfortably on their living room sofa, his back still sweaty from their run all the way here. Sasuke looks at him with a miserable expression. Greg is sipping from a steaming mug of coffee that reads Coffin Break but Naruto doesn’t know whether or not it’s appropriate to laugh at the joke. With the knowledge that ghosts are real and he’s inside of a funeral home, he decides to keep his mouth shut. Neither Greg nor Janice has said anything about Sasuke’s sunglasses, and Naruto is relieved. A lot of the time parent’s get on kids’ backs for random things like wearing sunglasses inside “just to look cool.” Sasuke’s not wearing them to look cool, he’s wearing them to hide his magical eyes, but Greg and Janice don’t have to know that.

Greg and Janice both wear glasses, and both of them dress like they belong in a different time period. Janice’s red hair poofs out in a bob cut, and she wears a purple turtle neck with a blue jacket over the top of it. Greg has made a clear attempt to look classy but ends up looking like a stereotypical nerd in a white collared shirt with a brown vest over the top of it. Naruto has never spoken to people like them before.

“Cracker platter?” Janice offers, holding out a plate of grapes and an assortment of crackers and cheese. Naruto shakes his head. Despite being hungry he’s too hot and sweaty to eat. Sasuke shakes his head, giving Janice an awkward smile. 

Naruto almost can’t believe that these two people were Sakura’s parents. It’s bewildering. Looking around Sakura’s childhood home makes him feel even sicker. The portraits of Sakura in life hanging on the wall next to school ribbons and homework, combined with her parent’s expectant, searching gazes makes Naruto want to run all the way back down the hill. But Naruto is not a coward. He tucks the journal underneath his arm and plasters on a big smile for them, even as his stomach churns.

“So, what did you say your grandpa’s name was?” Greg asks, sitting down with a computer and flash drive at the ready. Naruto’s smile falters, but Sasuke’s awkward smile turns slightly more genuine.

“Danzo Shimura.” He says with utmost confidence, “Do you need me to spell if for you?”

Greg waves Sasuke off, “No, but thank you for the offer.”

Janice sits herself down next to Sasuke, nibbling on a cracker. Naruto rubs his hands together, wondering if his sweaty palms are because of this uncomfortable situation or his previous run. Sasuke turns to Janice as she clears her throat, and while Naruto can tell he’s stiff and guarded he doubts that she can. “Well isn’t that just curious...” Janice begins, “Our Sakura ran around with a book just like that! What’s it about, anyway? I think it’s some sort of spooky ghost story.” Janice shudders dramatically, popping a grape into her mouth. Greg types away, humming to himself.

Naruto swallows, looking to Sasuke for help. Sasuke’s lips thin in anger at being relied on for yet another lie, but Naruto really has no clue how to talk to these people. Sasuke turns to Janice, all traces of anger gone from his face as he speaks to her, “It’s the third book of a great scary story about ghosts, your right. Naruto is just obsessed with it. Right, Naruto?” Sasuke smiles pointedly at him. Naruto nods quickly.

“Right, yeah, definitely. It is super scary.” Naruto agrees. Sasuke pushes his sunglasses up his face and leans away from Janice as she leans toward him.

“Our Sakura was obsessed with ghosts. We think it’s because of our profession.” She tells them with a smile, “We run this funeral home you see.”

Naruto can’t help it. He’s nervous, and scared, and a million questions are bombarding him. When he’s overwhelmed his mouth has a mind of its own. In the sudden awkward silence of the room Naruto blurts, “How did she die?” his eyes go wide at his statement and his mouth clamps shut. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to intrude...” he hurries to explain. Sasuke pinches his arm and sends him warning look.

Greg stops in his typing, clearing his throat. Janice sits back in the couch with a deep breath. “Our Sakura had a terminal illness. We adopted her from the hospital right out of town, and she died because we couldn’t bring her back to it in time.” Janice wipes her eyes, lips quivering. “Sakura loved it here in Gravity Falls, and despite her father and me agreeing it would be most convenient to move closer to the hospital she insisted on not leaving town. I should’ve known...” she murmurs, eyes closing. “January second was the day she collapsed out of exhaustion and tumbled down the stairs. We called an ambulance and she died long before they reached the hospital. She’s the reason we decided to stay in this house. It would break our hearts to leave Gravity Falls when our little girl loved it here so much.” Janice sniffles. Greg wipes a handkerchief underneath his glasses.

Naruto sighs, eyes downcast. His blonde hair falls in front of his face from out of the hat Sasuke stole for him. “She sounds amazing.” He offers with his hands clasped together on his lap. Sasuke stays silent, shoulders hunched. Janice smiles shakily at him.

“She was a wonderful girl.” Janice declares. Greg sucks in a sharp breath and adjusts his laptop computer pointedly.

He and Sasuke give Greg their full attention. “I think I’ve found your grandfather, Naruto.” He smiles behind his glasses, happy to change topics. “Danzo Shimura, died at age eight-nine about three years ago. I knew that I’d recognized that name...right, honey?”

Janice stands up from the couch, nodding. “Yes, I think your right. Not many people showed up at his funeral, poor old man...” she shakes her head at the memory. “But he’s not buried here. It’s true we held his body for a period of time but Danzo Shimura specifically requested that his ashes be spread in the forest.”

Greg slaps his knee, eyes alight at the memory. “Oh yes that’s right! We did have a very lacking funeral turnout...there was sweet Ino of course...but she tends to make it to most funerals...”  Greg shakes himself off. “Here, let me write the location of his ashes. We had to get permission from the mayor to bury his body in the part of the forest that’s town property; which is a small part, might I add, because the Sarutobi’s own much of the land here.” Naruto nods along as Greg procures a pen and jots down the location, drawing a quick map.

Naruto glances at Sasuke wondering where his brother had heard the name Danzo Shimura before, and how he’d managed to conjure up the lie of Danzo being Naruto’s grandfather. However Sasuke came up with the idea Naruto is just glad that the lie worked so smoothly. Naruto clears his throat. “Well,” he begins loudly, stretching his arms, “Thank you guys so much for your help. But you know, we should probably be heading back to the Mystery Shack...Uncle Kakashi must be getting worried...” Naruto laughs softly. Sasuke stands up as well, rolling his shoulders.

Sasuke approaches Greg and takes the offered piece of paper.  “...Naruto’s right, we better head out. And thanks for the information about his grandfather.” He says quietly. Naruto notices something off about the tense way Sasuke’s holding himself, however.

Greg waves their gratitude off, setting his laptop computer aside. “It’s quite alright, we enjoyed the company. Good luck with your grandfather.” He claps Sasuke on the shoulder.

Naruto begins to lead Sasuke away from them, admittedly eager to leave the suffocating house. But Sasuke stops him. Sasuke turns to Janice and Greg fiddling with his sunglasses. Naruto searches Sasuke’s face and instantly senses the sobriety of his expression. It reminds Naruto of the expression he’d been wearing back at the diner. He looks at his brother worriedly.

Sasuke sucks in a deep breath. “I might be overstepping my rights here, and trust me I know you probably don’t want to hear this.” Sasuke begins, catching Greg and Janice’s attention. “I sure didn’t want to hear any words of comfort after I lost my brother...my brother had an illness, too, like your daughter.” Sasuke swallows before clearing his throat. “Look the point is, I never knew your daughter. But I know grief. And I know that this,” Sasuke motions around the house. “This isn’t grief. You don’t need to keep her stuff on the walls to remember her. You don’t need to make the house feel like she’s still alive to prove to yourselves she’s still in your heart. For better or worse her memory is never going to leave you alone.” Sasuke swallows, nodding. “You don’t have to forget about your loved ones to accept that they’re gone. It took me a long time to realize that.”

Naruto feels his stomach sink. It’s clear that Sasuke has been thinking about his brother all day. Naruto had never known Itachi personally and Sasuke rarely talks about him, but he knows about Itachi’s illness. He knows that not even a full year after Sasuke lost his older brother Sasuke lost his birth parents. Sasuke was adopted into Naruto’s family when he was seven, and already so young he’d lost everything.

When Naruto originally learned of the existence of ghosts it’s true that his birth parents crossed his mind. He’d wondered if his mother and father were ever ghosts, or if the two of them had moved on peacefully. It’s a comforting idea that maybe his birth parents had been watching over him until as a child, sticking around until he was adopted into a nice family. But in the end, Naruto will never know for sure. Naruto hadn’t known his birth parents at all. He doesn’t know the first thing about them, doesn’t even know if they were married or not. He’d decided it was best not to dwell on it, especially when he has a wonderful family with him in life. But unlike Naruto, Sasuke remembers losing his family. It makes sense that Sasuke would be wondering whether or not his brother had been a ghost, or his parents, and it makes sense that hearing about all of this tragedy would prompt Sasuke to want to help Sakura’s parents. Knowing that Sakura is a ghost yet these people still can’t talk to their daughter...it has to upset Sasuke. He’s proud that Sasuke has bothered to say something. He’s proud Sasuke would show them his own pain in hopes to ease Janice and Greg’s.

Greg stands up, looking at his wife who is now sobbing openly. “It’s best if you leave.” Greg says forcefully. Sasuke turns away, nodding in solemn understanding.

Naruto and Sasuke are lead out the door by Greg. Greg opens the door and doesn’t bother to say goodbye, Janice’s sobs audible from the living room. The door clicks shut and Sasuke and Naruto walk in silence as they travel down the sidewalk. They only speak when their shoes start to clunk against the rocks of the driveway.

“That was intense.” Naruto mutters, tucking his hair back into his hat. Sasuke huffs in obvious agreement. “I can’t believe those guys were Sakura’s parents. It’s crazy.”

Sasuke sighs heavily, nodding. “It’s pretty coincidental...I guess what they say about small towns is true.”

Naruto shrugs glumly. He glances at Sasuke through the corner of his eyes, shoulders squaring resolutely. “You did a good thing, Sasuke. You tried to help them.” He offers, eyes fixated ahead of him. Sasuke hums, sniffing and wiping his arm across his nose. To lighten the mood Naruto nudges him in the shoulder, “Although It’s kind of hard to take you seriously in those sunglasses...” Sasuke chokes on his spit, his laughter breaking the tense atmosphere between them.

They walk down the road, alone with not a car in sight for the longest time. The summer heat is slightly easier to handle now that the sun has shifted positions and the trees on either side of the road can shade them. It also helps that he and Sasuke are walking downhill rather than up. They see only one car, and it’s a large flashy trailer with a blonde girl’s face painted on it speeding up the hill. Sasuke’s sunglasses and Naruto’s hat nearly fly off from the wind the speeding trailer produces, both of them shooting each other disgruntled looks. Sasuke turns to him with a confused expression. “Why is a trailer speeding towards a graveyard?” he grumbles, looking up the road moodily.

Naruto shrugs. “No clue.”

They continue on. They walk down the road, past the Icheraku Diner, and make it to the forest path that leads to their uncle’s tourist attraction, the Mystery Shack. Before entering the two of them take off their hat and glasses, hiding their new accessories under the porch. The door dings and they see Uncle Kakashi is behind the counter, passing a tourist her change. When Kakashi sees them his visible eye narrows. Sasuke and Naruto walk over to the counter as the tourist and her kid leave, Sasuke closing his red eyes to ensure the tourist doesn’t notice anything amiss. Naruto walks towards the counter with a wince, “Hey, Uncle Kakashi...” Naruto tenses waiting for admonishment as Kakashi’s angry gaze sweeps over them.

Kakashi motions to he and Sasuke with rage. “You two can’t just leave without asking or at least leaving a note!” he snaps, “And don’t you think I haven’t noticed the merchandise you two stole! I’ve already thought up a long list of chores that will pay off the hat and glasses you two stole!”

Sasuke and Naruto choke. “What?” Sasuke asks, flabbergasted and not even trying to deny their uncle’s accusations. “How did you know?”

Kakashi glares. “It doesn’t matter how I know, what matters is that I do know and there will be consequences for you trying to cheat me out of good money!”

Naruto guffaws. “You call ten bucks good money?” he groans.

Kakashi points a finger at him. “You shut your trap!” he shouts, fist slamming on the table. The sound of a third voice makes Naruto jump.

“Kakashi stop being so mean, the point of them staying with you is to bond with them!” Naruto recognizes Sakura’s scolding voice. He can hear Sakura, but at the moment he can’t see her. He may be wearing the ghost-chain but it’s tiring to walk around with a mirror pressed against his eye 24/7. Sasuke stifles a snort and Naruto resists the urge not to laugh at Sakura’s words. Naruto can imagine Sakura’s hands on her hips and the exact face she’s making. Sasuke is looking at somewhere next to Kakashi, red eyes cheerfully squinting. Kakashi snarls. “I am not being mean!” Kakashi throws his hands in the air with exasperation looking at the same spot as Sasuke. Sakura’s awesome, Naruto thinks with awe, but also with a twinge of sadness. He wishes there was some way that he could help her pass on. She deserves to rest in peace.

Oh boy, Kakashi wasn’t bluffing when he claimed to have a list of chores for them to accomplish. The list is long and exhausting, but even so, they trudge through grueling tasks with minimal protests. In truth he and Sasuke actually got off pretty easy, seeing as they’d snuck off without supervision to visit a graveyard. Granted, Kakashi didn’t know the graveyard part, and Naruto and Sasuke don’t plan on letting him find out.

Sakura joins them and makes their work much more entertaining with her ghostly presence. Throughout all of the dusting, mopping, and picking up litter from Uncle Kakashi’s driveway, Sasuke and Naruto take turns reading from the journal out loud. They’d figured since Kakashi had seen Sasuke’s eyes he wouldn’t care about the journal, and if he knew about the stolen gift shop items it’d be useless to leave them underneath the porch. Sasuke and Naruto eagerly put back on their new accessories. Naruto is glad that Sasuke is as eager to learn about ghosts as he is. Sasuke’s usually off in his own world, and it’s nice to spend time with him to talk about something they both care about.

During one of the reads they discover the name of Sasuke’s red eyes. His eyes are called the Sharingan. According to the author it’s an elusive power that skips many generations before finding a worthy user. The author of the journal has the strange red eyes himself although he doesn’t explain how he got them. Naruto and Sasuke had been fascinated to find out that the author of the book was or maybe is in possession of the Sharingan.  There is an entire page dedicated to explaining how the author invented the mirror for his unidentified coworker that Naruto delves into with vigor. They learn of many more ghost facts, like the laws of intangibility and the strange occurrence of certain ghost’s physical traits become exaggerated. For example, Sakura’s strawberry blonde hair is now bright pink, showing that her hair color has been exaggerated since she became a ghost. Sakura told them of another instance where a boy had pale blue eyes in life but now as a ghost has white eyes without pupils. Their uncle’s chores provide them plenty of time to educate themselves on all things ghost. That is, when Uncle Kakashi isn’t yelling at them to stop talking and get back to work. 

He and Sasuke are now lying down on their beds in the attic in exhaustion, Sakura having disappeared after dinner with Uncle Kakashi. The dinner is surprisingly a decent experience. In the past few days they’ve eaten mostly takeout and leftovers, but Uncle Kakashi visited the store while he was out today and got fresh food, cooking up a delicious meal that Naruto and Sasuke promptly scarfed down. Who knew that Crazy Kakashi could cook?

Naruto lies in bed for most of the night, thinking of ghosts. And when he finally slips into sleep, he dreams of them. The night before he’d been so tired he’d barely remembered to take off his chain and tuck it into the journal, hiding it under his bed, but when he lied down for rest proper sleep evades him. When Naruto opens his eyes he doesn’t quite feel rested, but he still hops out of bed with determination. He and Sasuke have so much more to learn about ghosts, and they have not a second of time to waste.

It’s while wrestling his tired body into a fresh set of clothes that he hears a loud knock that shakes the attic door. Their uncle’s voice calls out, “Hey kid! Meet me downstairs in ten minutes. I just got a call and we’ve got somewhere to be. Dress nice, alright?”

Naruto calls back an affirmative, glancing over at Sasuke’s bed to see that his sheets have already been made. Sasuke is probably in the bathroom down the hall, and his assumption is confirmed true when he strains his ears to hear the shower running. Naruto doesn’t bother with a shower this morning, even though their uncle told him to dress nicely. He doesn’t have time to both dress nice and eat breakfast; it’s obvious to Naruto which is more important. He putters downstairs drowsily, barely remembering to grab the mirror chain out from inside the journal and wrap it around his neck. He sits down on the counter and makes himself some toast, blinking at the sudden absence of the sound of the shower running. A few minutes later, after Naruto has finished his toast an entire glass of tap water, Sasuke comes down the stairs looking refreshed. He’s not dressed any fancier than Naruto is, however. The two of them didn’t exactly pack their bags with plans of going somewhere nice on their minds.  Naruto is slightly disappointed that he and Sasuke won’t immediately be able to start reading with Sakura again, but at the same time his uncle has definitely piqued his curiosity about where they’re going. Actually, now that Naruto thinks about it, where is Sakura? She said she was going back to her house, which is apparently where she sleeps. Naruto supposes that she’ll be here in time for her “shift” to start. It’s weird to Naruto that Sakura still acts like she’s employed at the Mystery Shack.

Sasuke, on top of his casual shorts and t-shirt, has his sunglasses covering his eyes protectively. “Good morning, loser.” Sasuke greets. He leans against the sink as he pours himself a glass of tap water. “I’d asked how you slept, but I was there for all ten hours of your teeth chattering.”

Naruto opens his mouth to deny that his teeth chatter but gets distracted by the sight of his uncle dressed in a formal suit and tie. Despite still wearing his mask and a black eye patch, Naruto thinks his uncle looks rather nice. “You look snazzy.” He compliments. “What’s the occasion?”

Their uncle glares at them, tapping his wrist impatiently. “Just get in the car, I don’t want to explain.”

Naruto shakes off any toast-crumbs that might have been stuck to his face, following Sasuke and his uncle to the car. The car is not as much of a wreck as Naruto would’ve expected it to be, seeing as his uncle’s house is in terrible shape. But the only complaint that Naruto has about the car is a big dent next to the left tire and the clutter on the inside. Naruto has to move a baseball bat and a couple of dirty clothes just to sit in the back seat. Sasuke buckles up beside him, fiddling with the old-school window crank. Kakashi looks at his watch, eye narrowing. “I didn’t want to be late!” Kakashi hisses to himself. Kakashi adjusts his grip on the steering wheel, peering at them through his rearview window. “Okay kids, are you buckled?” he asks. Naruto and Sasuke shrug, confirming that their safe and secure.
Uncle Kakashi clears his throat dramatically. “Alright then, traffic laws, prepare to be ignored!” he shouts, and Naruto jerks forward as the small car slams out of the driveway and barrels down the road. Sasuke’s eyes go wide as he shouts in surprise. He looks terrified. Naruto winces as their uncle turns a sharp corner, speeding down the road at full force. They make it town in less than three minutes, Sasuke’s face paling considerably as he clutches onto the car handle tightly. Naruto clutches onto Sasuke because he’s sitting in the middle seat and doesn’t have a handle to hold.

“Can’t you at least slow down on turns?” he shouts at his uncle, who cackles mischievously.

“Nope, I never know when the turns are coming! Like I said, it’s hard to see with the one eye!” he shouts back.

Most of the car ride is hectic, but their uncle slows down when he approaches the large hill he and Sasuke climbed the day before. Kakashi drives at a sedated pace, fingers thrumming against the steering wheel. Sasuke and Naruto glance at each other, but Sasuke looks too sick from the car ride to speak up. His brother has always been motions sick, and proof of that is the miserable expression he sports as his arm cradles his stomach. Naruto winces sympathetically at Sasuke before leaning toward the front seat.  “Uncle Kakashi?” Naruto begins, “Where are we going?” Naruto doesn’t want to give away he knows where this hill leads. They’ll be in a lot more trouble if Kakashi knows that they snuck out to visit a cemetery, and Naruto is already sick of chores.

Uncle Kakashi makes it up the hill, and the Valentino’s house enters Naruto’s field of vision. “A funeral,” Uncle Kakashi says solemnly. Naruto looks through the car window, mouth agape. The driveway is brimming with cars and pedestrians. It’s almost as if the whole town showed up. He turns to Sasuke, who appears to be in similar awe of the sheer mass of cars cramped in one small lot. Some of the cars have resorted to parking in the grass. Naruto can hear many voices, and he assumes because of the chain around his neck some of them belong to ghosts. He doesn’t notice that his uncle is pulling into a parking spot until the car jerks into a stop. The moment the car is put into park Sasuke sails out of the car door. He bends over and clutches his knees, Naruto climbing out and patting his back sympathetically. Uncle Kakashi steps out of the car and looks up at the Valentino house sadly. Naruto follows his gaze.

“Uncle Kakashi...” he begins slowly, biting his cheek. “...whose funeral are we going to?”

Sasuke stands up and rubs his head, also wanting to know the answer.

Uncle Kakashi clears his throat, beginning to walk towards the entrance of the funeral home. “Sakura Valentino’s.” he says, voice dull.

Naruto’s body goes cold. It feels like he’s been punched in the stomach, and his eyes go wide. Is this where Sakura’s been all day? He thinks, suddenly hyperaware of the fact Sakura’s was absent all morning. Has she been attending her own funeral?

Naruto has a million more questions. He’d thought Sakura had been dead for a long time, so it didn’t make sense for there to be a random funeral today of all days. He looks around, caving in to the desire to pull out the mirror. He doesn’t care if people look at him strangely, he’s already standing next to a man wearing an eye patch and a full on face mask. He peers through the empty frame, catching sight of a few familiar faces.

The man with the bowler cut is here, dressed nicely and walking slowly towards the funeral home. The elderly ghost who looks like him has his translucent arm wrapped around the bowler cut man’s shoulder. Naruto had thought that all ghostly-touch was cold and uncomfortable, but the bowler-cut guy doesn’t seem to notice or mind. Naruto also sees the sweatshirt girl who’d run away from them in town yesterday. She’s wearing a plain black dress and black bonnet, and it makes Naruto feel underdressed. Following close behind her is the ghost boy Sakura had told them about with the white eyes. The girl is standing side by side with the boy who is haunted by his ghost dog. Even the ghost dog seems to sense the sorrow of the parking lot, walking beside his previous owner with his tail down. Across from them is the lady and guy who’d been working at the local diner, and a few cars ahead from Naruto is the woman who’d been drinking at the counter of Icheraku Diner. Unbeknownst to the lady, Jiraiya, the ghost who Sasuke and Naruto had chased here is walking supportively beside her. There are many more faces around the parking lot, both normal and ghostly, but Naruto doesn’t recognize them.

Naruto breathes in deeply. He and Sasuke move as one to walk behind their uncle, approaching the funeral home at a somber pace. Naruto wonders if perhaps Sasuke’s words had meant more to the Greg and Janice than they’d assumed. Perhaps Sasuke had nudged the parents in the direction of holding this funeral. He wants to ask Kakashi what’s happening, why a girl who’s been dead for years is finally receiving a funeral, but he can tell that his uncle wants to mourn in peace. He and Sasuke walk behind their uncle, silently following him all the way to the entrance of the Valentino house. When the three of them make it to the door, Uncle Kakashi doesn’t bother knocking. He invites himself inside, greeted with groups upon groups of quietly conversing people. Sasuke and Naruto turn to each other with twin frowns, one person in mind...Sakura.

Uncle Kakashi smiles and waves someone over. Naruto is shocked to realize its bowler-cut guy. Bowler-cut guy bounds over, bumping his uncle in the shoulder. Uncle Kakashi smiles at the man. “Gai,” Kakashi greets, “It means a lot to me that you came.”

The man beams. “There are very few things that would stop me from honoring your apprentice’s passing. It is very beautiful how many hearts the youthful girl managed to touch.” The man looks around referring to how many citizens of Gravity Falls have showed up for the funeral. Naruto takes a moment to reel, wondering what this stranger meant by apprentice.

Uncle Kakashi nods, pointing to them. “These are my nephews, Sasuke and Naruto.” Bowler cut guy, whose name is actually Gai, smiles at them, teeth shiny and grin wide.

“It is lovely to finally meet my rival’s family. The name’s Gai Maito,” Gai waves at them exuberantly. Crazy-Kakashi and bowler-cut-Gai proceed to dismiss them, delving into conversation. “So, do you know why the Valentino’s have decided to hold a funeral after all these months? I thought she was already cremated.” Gai murmurs, his voice lowering as to not attract any unwanted attention.

Naruto and Sasuke pretend not to be listening intently. Uncle Kakashi shrugs. “Change of heart, I suppose. All I know is this; I got a call at ten o’clock last night asking if I could say a few words at their daughter’s funeral. Of course I closed the shop right away and came down.” He explains, also lowering his voice and trying to be inconspicuous.

Gai hums, “Curious...ah well, whatever the reason, I’m glad the Valentino’s are finally ready to say farewell.”

Uncle Kakashi nods. “I couldn’t agree more.”

Their conversation turns confusing, names Naruto doesn’t recognize and references he doesn’t understand being thrown around. Sasuke hisses his name in alarm and Naruto follows his gaze. Sasuke is pointing out the window towards the center of the graveyard, where a head of pink hair is standing over a gravestone. Sasuke fidgets anxiously, clearly wanting to go see her.

Naruto works up the courage to tug on his uncle’s sleeve. “Is it okay if we go outside?” Naruto wonders.

Uncle Kakashi nods at them, eye flickering briefly to the window. “Alright, but don’t go too far, understand? And...” Kakashi’s frowns deepens, “Be back in time for the ceremony. I believe that the Valentino’s are asking for everyone’s help in spreading Sakura’s ashes.”

Naruto and Sasuke share a look. “We’ll be back.” Sasuke assures.

They weave out of the crowd, completely unnoticed as they quietly slip out the door. Oddly enough, almost everyone who was outside is now inside, making the once crowded parking lot dead silent. Naruto studies the rows upon rows of empty cars, and then his gaze shifts to the gate of the graveyard he and Sasuke still haven’t had the chance to enter. “Should we go?” Naruto wonders anxiously. Sasuke’s answer is to start walking towards the gate. He and Sasuke walk side by side, stopping before the gate. On the other side of the decorative entrance is a sea of grave stones, rows upon rows of loved ones lost forever. Other than the rustling of leaves the only sound they can here is the echoes of voices inside the house. Not even any ghosts are out here.

Except for one, Naruto reminds himself. He spots the pink hair standing before a gravestone and as if sensing his gaze Sakura turns to them. She smiles at them. Naruto and Sasuke step onto the paved pathway and begin walking towards her. Naruto catches sight of a few names on his way to her. Reading the names on the stones is unexpectedly painful now that he’s aware most of them are still ghosts around town, people Naruto could potentially meet.

“It’s a nice day for a funeral...” Sakura is staring at the stone before her. Naruto and Sasuke walk up behind her, standing in the center of the large cemetery. “I’m glad it’s not raining, and that gentle breeze sure feels nice. I’ve always loved the outdoors...” Sakura runs a ghostly hand over the stone. Naruto jerks with the realization that the name on the stone is Sakura’s.

Naruto doesn’t know what to say. Luckily Sakura clearly has much on her mind. She turns around and sits on the dry grass, leaning against her gravestone and still smiling pleasantly. “You made my dream come true, you know, Sasuke, Naruto.” She says conversationally.

Sasuke’s brow furrows. “What do you mean? We haven’t done anything.”

Sakura laughs brightly, and Naruto notices that instead of sounding like a normal girl, she sounds much more like melodic and ghost-like. Her voice sounds like he’d originally imagined it would. Sakura’s laughter is beautiful. “My dream...the reason that tethered me to this world...was the desire to see a ghost pass on. I wanted to witness just one ghost find enough peace to move on to the afterlife.” Sakura’s laughter fades as she shakes her head, “Who would’ve thought that I’d be the ghost I witnessed passing on?” she says cheerfully.

Naruto swallows, throat suddenly dry.

Sakura continues. “You’re probably confused. After all, I told you that ghosts here in Gravity Falls can’t pass on. But that’s not necessarily true. The Sharingan can help people pass on. When I was younger I read all about the Sharingan in the journal memorizing its function perfectly. You can read about it too, it’s on page 89, I have it memorized. But no matter how hard I tried, without the Sharingan, I couldn’t help them move on. All I could do was look through a mirror and watch their misery.” Sakura sighs. “When I died I knew that I’d be a ghost whether or not the barrier on Gravity Falls existed...I would never find peace until I’d seen the elusive Sharingan...” Sakura quotes the journal’s description. “What a surprise it was to find out that that Uncle Kakashi’s nephew possessed the power I’d wanted my whole life...the power to help ghosts pass on.” She doesn’t sound bitter, in fact Naruto thinks she sounds relieved.

Naruto looks to Sasuke with a shock filled expression, but Sasuke’s eyes are fixated firmly on Sakura. She breathes deeply. “I wasn’t able to help the people of Gravity Falls...but the two of you? I see something in you. I know that you can do this. I believe in you...”

Sakura leans her head against the stone. Sasuke falls to his knees before the stone, fist clenching in the dirt. “How do you know? How are so sure that we can help these people?”

Sakura scoffs. “Sasuke, I never thought I’d move on. I knew that I couldn’t move on until my parents moved on from me, and I knew that I couldn’t move on until I found someone to help Gravity Falls. In less than a day the two of you helped me find the peace I never thought possible.” She laughs wetly, her shoulders shrugging and her voice disbelieving. “Trust me...you can do it.”

Naruto finds himself kneeling beside Sasuke. They gaze upon her ghostly figure as she looks up to the sun contentedly. “Do me one last favor?” Sakura whispers.

Naruto and Sasuke instantly nod. Sakura closes her eyes. “Give Uncle Kakashi some slack. I know he can be...cold...but if there’s anyone that you can trust in a town like Gravity Falls, it’s him.”

Sasuke takes off his sunglasses, folding them into his pocket. His Sharingan spins as he stares at her. Naruto’s hand is admittedly beginning to cramp from holding up the mirror for so long, but he needs to say a final goodbye. “Sakura...we’ll...we’re gonna’ take care of this town, okay? You can count on us, I promise!” he holds a hand to his heart.

Sakura laughs, and even though Naruto is still clutching the mirror tightly to his eye, he can’t see her anymore. Her laughter rings pleasantly in his ears. Naruto feels like a weight has left his shoulders, like he’s lighter all of the sudden. Even though he’ll miss Sakura, he’s glad that she and her family will finally have peace.

He and Sasuke sit by her honorary gravestone, fingers brushing over her name. They sit for quite a while, the sun shining and the breeze calming. Sasuke is the first to stand, facing away from the stone and sliding his sunglasses back into place. “We’ve got to go inside. We’ll miss the ceremony.” Naruto doesn’t say anything as he follows him quietly back to house. They open the door and step inside, the once scattered groups of people bunched together and loudly clapping. Naruto and Sasuke move forward to see Uncle Kakashi standing next to Janice and Greg, a crumpled piece of paper in his hands. Naruto and Sasuke begin to understand that their uncle just made the speech he’d been talking about with his friend Gai, and when begin clapping exuberantly. Their uncle finds them in the crowd and nods, and for the first time, Naruto can actually tell that his uncle is smiling.

Their uncle steps back into the crowd, meandering over to them. On the way people quietly thank him for his words as Janice and Greg re-center themselves in front of the crowd. Uncle Kakashi stops next to them and Naruto smiles, bumping him in the shoulder. Kakashi ruffles his hair in response, pulling both he and Sasuke into his sides. The three of them look up towards Greg and Janice, who are standing in front of a large table that has many little bags tied with ribbons. The bags are light blue and there are at least four dozen of them cramped onto the narrow table. Janice clears her throat, “I was once told that for better or worse the memory of a loved one always stays with you.” Naruto jerks, looking around Kakashi to meet stare into awaiting Sasuke’s sunglasses. Those are Sasuke’s words, Naruto thinks. He smiles and wipes his eyes with his arm, feeling a lump form in his throat.

Janice looks out to the crowd before her and breathes deeply, crumbling her black dress in between her fingers. “And I like to think that the memory of Sakura’s love for this town is one that never leaves us. She was so adventurous, and despite her illness, always looking on the bright side. I remember that when she was just seven years old, dressed in her little overalls with her wide green eyes, she told me said she wanted to explore every inch of Gravity Falls. But, um...” Janice’s voice cracks, and her husband places a soothing hand on her shoulder. She stifles a sob and barrels on, “She never had the chance to do that. So I called you all here today to help us make that dream come true. I’d like everyone here to take one of these bags behind us,” She fumbles a bit, waving her arm behind her towards the long table, “Because they are each filled with about two ounces of Sakura’s ashes. And I’d like everyone here to spread them as far and wide as they can...I think...” she chokes, trying desperately to wipe her tears away. “I think that it would mean a lot to Sakura. So, if you’d all please line up, I’d like to pass out the ashes.” She clears her throat, and the crowd at the funeral forms a line. Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi are near the end of the crowd, but Naruto prefers it this way, because he gets to watch as person upon person grabs a bag and heads out. He gets to listen to the people ahead of them happily discuss where they are going to spread Sakura’s ashes. Gai walks up, offering his sympathies to Greg and Janice, before enthusiastically declaring he’ll be spreading her ashes in the northern part of the forest where a supposed waterfall lies. He hears someone in the crowd grumble in disappointment, complaining that the waterfall had been their idea as well. Scattered laughter erupts from the crowd.

Eventually it’s Kakashi’s turns to step forward and graciously accept a blue bag, Naruto and Sasuke close behind him.  There’s hardly anyone left at the funeral, everyone having gone out to spread Sakura’s ashes or gone home to contemplate what destination they should choose. Sasuke pauses before Greg and Janice, before walking forward and saying very quietly, “My brother would’ve loved something like this.” Janice loses what’s left of her composure, leaning down and wrapping a very startled Sasuke intp a hug.

Greg chuckles, handkerchief in hand as he gently informs his wife, “You’re going to suffocate him,”

Janice pulls away at her husband’s advisory, looking at Sasuke with a sincere expression. “Thank you.” She says, breathlessly. Naruto knows that everyone must feel lighter now that Sakura has finally found peace and passed on. Now Janice and Greg can truly grieve.

A few minutes later and the three of them are walking back to Kakashi’s car. It is during their short trek across the driveway that Naruto’s fists clench with determination.

Naruto will make sure that he and Sasuke help every last ghost in Gravity Falls into the afterlife, no matter how long it takes them. After all...Naruto and Sasuke’s twelfth summer has only just begun.