It's cold. And dark. Where am I? Remembering the hits I took, I sighed. I guess I'm dead. Is this what its like to die?

Thinking about it, I smiled. As long as Naruto lives, I don't care.

An image of Sasuke flickered through my mind and tears left my eyes. That's right. Sasuke. I kind of left him behind. Images of Sakura, Kakashi-Sensei, Iruka, Choji, Shikamaru, Lee, Konohamaru, and everyone else crossed my mind.

I'm going to miss them all. I don't regret what I did. I'd do anything for Naruto. Even die. But . . . I cared about other people. I'm never going to see Sasuke, Naruto, or anyone else ever again. That thought alone brings sadness to me.

I wiped the tears from my eyes before looking around. So what now? Where exactly am I. Sure isn't Heaven. So am I in hell?

But it doesn't look like Hell. It's only dark. And I'm alone.

Alone.

Panic started to overcome me and I quickly sat down and hugged myself, trying to calm my ragged breathing.

No. No! I don't want to be alone! I don't want to! "Why are you scared?" Huh? I looked up to see a girl about my age with red hair and blue eyes. She wore a white mobile kimono and ninja boots. She looks familiar, but I can't quite place my finger on it.

Biting my lip, I answered. "I'm not scared." I lied. She grinned. "Of course ya are! Don't ya even know?" I glared at her and looked down. "I'm not scared."

She looked at me carefully before placing her hands on her hips. "Say, why are you so closed off?" She asked. I stood, keeping a calm exterior. "I'm not closed off. I'm just skeptic of some random uncultured girl in Hell."

She blinked before laughing. Then she turned angry and glared at me, a fire like vibe behind her. "Uncultured?! Are you picking a fight with me?!" I rolled my eyes. She sure has a temper. "I don't want to hear that from some dumb blonde bimbo."

Fire raged around me. "What did you say to me tomato brains?!" I roared, angry at this girl. "You heard me Blondie!" We glared at each other before lunging at each other.

I went to punch, but she dodged and did an undercut. As I was flung up, I moved my leg and kicked her under her chin. I groaned, as did she and we rubbed our chins in pain simultaneously.

She then grinned. "Hey, you're pretty strong aren't ya?" She admired. For some reason, a small smile made its way onto my face. "So are you?" We smiled at each other before laughing.

This girl, she made me forget my loneliness. She stood fast and walked over to me, before holding her hand out. "Sorry about that, I have a bit of a temper." I shook my head and took her hand.

She helped me up. "It's fine. I was just a bit surprised is all. So where exactly are we?" I asked. She shrugged nonchalantly. "I think we're somewhere between life and death I guess."

I sighed, scratching the back of my head. "Yeah, I guess that's right. So what do we do now?" I asked. She thought about it. "Well, I guess we just wait until our fates decided."

The thought of waiting for god knows how long alone in this darkness sent chills down my spine. "Well, I guess we have some say here. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be alone here in the dark." I looked up the girl, who was looking off thoughtfully.

This girl . . . She see's right through me without even knowing it.

She grinned and the darkness turned to a town. It looked like a festival. "What the . . . how-"

She laughed. "Well don't ya know?! I've been here for a while. I've been here for a long time. As it turns out, we can change the field. It's almost like an illusion, but a bit more solid. But it's nicer then the darkness. I-I'm afraid of it. Being alone. Especially in the dark." She answered honestly, looking down.

I stared at her a bit. So we're the same. A smile made its way onto my face and I grabbed her hand. She jumped in shock and looked at me questioningly. I grinned and jabbed my thumb at a game. "Come on. You're not alone now. And neither am I. Let's go play a game."

I pulled her and ran towards the ring toss game.

The girl laughed as I pulled her to it. The man smiled. "Well, what do we have? How many?" He asked. I held up three fingers. "Three each mister." He nodded and passed us our hoops.

Looking at the prizes above, I spotted a orange fox with Nine Tails. Is that supposed to be the Nine Tails? But . . . it's a cute plush.

Let's see, I have to get three from the back. Grinning, I tossed the rings, the same time as the red headed girl. I made it, but she only made two. "NO!" She shouted, slumping down in defeat. "But the fox." She mumbled under her breath.

Oh? I chuckled and turned to the man and pointed at the stuffed plush. He handed me it. Turning to the girl, who was still mumbling under her breath, I held it out to her.

She looked up and her eyes went wide. "This is what you wanted right? Here, take it." Her face lit up as she stood and took the fox. "Thank you. But don't you want it?" She asked, but based on her grip on it, she really wants it.

I shook my head, a smile on my lips. "No. Besides, it looks best with you." She closed her eyes and grinned widely. I laughed. She reminds me of Naruto.

"Oh! Look! Let's get some squid." She snatched my hand and dragged me to the food stand near by. After order squid, takoyaki, ramen, and many more foods, we went back to playing games.

"Watch this! HA!" She threw the rubber ball, breaking the glass bottles in pyramid formation. "Ah! You crazy girl!" The vendor shouted. The girl sweat dropped and laughed nervously. "S-sorry."

The vendor then scolded us for twenty minutes. The girl next to me pouted as she stared at the ground, letting him lecture her.

After the lecture, we walked away. I laughed at her pouting face. "Well you kind of won." I said. She blushed a bright red, making me laugh more.

She looked at me and began laughing as well. I don't know what it was, but she seemed so familiar. It was easy for me to warm up to her. It's almost concerning.

"Geez, you're just like this boy at school." Hm? The way she said it . . . I smirked mischievously. "Oh? Is this boy someone you like?" I teased. She turned tomato red and her temple throbbed. "O-Of course not! He's an idiot!" She shouted, still blushing.

I chuckled and shook my head. "I suppose I understand. There's a boy back at my village who's a bit of a jerk." I said, trying to remember who. But for some reason I couldn't quite remember.

She looked at me curiously. "Is there? What's his name?" She asked. I stopped and tried to remember. But I couldn't. "I-I don't remember." I muttered, confusion setting in.

Her eyes went wide and she grabbed my shoulder. "No, no, no. You need to remember! If you forget about your life then you'll be stuck here! Do you have any family?" Family? I-I don't remember.

I feel like I did, but I don't quite remember. Did I have a sister? My parents? Shaking my head, I shrugged. A look of fright crossed her face. "You can't forget! If you forget you can't go to the land of the living."

I shrugged, walking over to a bench and sitting down. "It's not like I have to. It's a matter of fate. If I die, I die. If I live, I live. Why fight it?" I asked.

She sighed and sat next to me. "You know, when I saw you alone, I saw myself." She murmured. I looked at her questioningly. She smiled sadly. "

"I came from a clan to the LeafVillage. I was an outsider, no one was with me. They treated me differently because I wasn't one of them. Because I was different. I was alone." She muttered, grabbing a piece of her long fiery hair. "I hate my hair."

She muttered. I stared at her. For some reason, this girl seems like me. Smiling, I grabbed a strand of her hair. She looked at me in surprise. I smiled warmly at her. "I like your hair. It's beautiful."

Her eyes had flecks of violet in them as she stared at me in admiration. She smiled fondly. "That's what he said." Huh?

I smiled. "The boy you like?" I asked. She nodded her head and looked up at the sky which the sun had begun to set. "I wish I could be with him. But I can't right now. I need to keep on waiting patiently. It may be even more years to come, but I'll wait."

"You care about him that much to wait here all alone?" I asked. She turned to me, smiling kindly. "Of course. You have people like that too, right?"

I . . .

Images of a boy who looked just like me flashed through my mind, along with a boy with dark hair and eyes. More and more, images of different people flashed through my mind.

Nodding slowly, I spoke. "My brother and Sasuke." I mumbled. She grinned widely. "I'm sure they're waiting for you. Don't you want to be with them?"

I nodded my head. A small smile playing on my lips. "Yes. I need to get back." I stood up and up ahead, a bright door formed. I need to go through, in order to see them. My loved ones. I turned back to the girl, hesitating.

"If you remember, why don't you go back?" I asked. She closed her eyes, a smile still on her face. "I can't. I'm dead. But I can't move on yet. I need to wait for Minato."

I furrowed my eyebrows. Minato? That sounds familiar. My head is still a bit foggy. But I changed that back to her. Walking back over to her, I yanked her up and hugged her tightly.

"Wh-what is it?" She asked, surprised by my action. I pulled apart, smiling. "Thank you, for making my fear go away, and for helping me remember what I need to do. What I want."

She returned my smile and held my arms. "Whenever you lose your way, I'll be here. Because I like you. You're the first person I've seen in twelve years. Thanks for playing with me."

I shook my head. "You really are something. Thank you. I need to go now. I can't be away too long. Or my brother will throw a fit." She giggled and stepped back and waved.

"Bye-Bye!" I smiled and waved, before turning and heading towards the door. "Take care of Naruto." She whispered.

With that said, I entered through the door.