A Visitor

"And so we say goodbye to a young ninja that died in the line of duty…" said the man that presided over my funeral. I don't know why I came. I could have been anywhere you know. It's kind of nice to be dead. You never need anything. You can be where ever you want. It's kind of lonely though. It's strange, I really never cared if I was lonely or not before. For once, I really do wish I had someone to talk too…

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"I can't believe it…" said Kiba as he walked away. "I know," agreed Ino, "You'd never think he'd…." she stopped at the sight of a grief stricken Sakura.

She was crying loudly into Lee's shoulder. "That…stupid…jerk…"she sobbed. Lee tried to comfort her, but she was beyond comforting. "How could he…leave us like that…"

Ino went to help Lee comfort Sakura. Kiba walked over to a very silent Naruto, "Naruto?"

He looked over his shoulder, "What…?"

"How are you holding up?"

Naruto shrugged. Kiba took it as 'yeah, I'm great. Now go away.'

"Poor kid," he muttered as he went to join in the comforting of Sakura.

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Naruto sat in his little apartment, alone, as usual. He wanted to be alone. His world had shattered. "Why did you leave me…" he would mutter occasionally. He cried sometimes, but mostly sat and stared at his most prized possession. I was a lock of hair, given to him by his closest friend, right before he…he…he….

"Naruto…."

Knock

Knock

Knock

So he hadn't imagined it. Someone was knocking on his door. He got up and looked out thought the peep-hole. "What do they want…." He opened the door.

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The door opened, "What?"

"We…I…Naruto….we found this….in…in his room….I think…We think it was for you," said the boy.

Naruto took the small, wrapped package. The girl also handed him a letter. "He wrote it last week."

Naruto nodded, "Thank you. I'm glad you brought me this."

The siblings nodded and left. It was a long way home, and they needed to leave before night fall.

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Naruto closed the door and sat down on his bed. He took the letter and opened it. He read it several times, absorbing it slowly. It was short, but said much. "He never was one for many words…"

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"I wonder what Naruto is doing…" he thought as he wondered about.

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Naruto stared out the window. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Ever since the funeral…he shook his head. 'I can't keep think about that…' He sighed. 'Why did you have to leave me…' Tear welled in his eyes. "Damn it!!! Why did you leave me!!!" he would scream. He slammed his head against the wall. He slumped to the floor, dazed from the impact….

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He watched the blonde's impact. "That had to hurt," he whispered.

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Naruto pulled himself into a sitting position. "Ouch…" he got up and sat back down on the bed. "I have got to stop doing that…"

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The visitor chuckled. 'Naruto you clown…' He watched through the window. 'It's weird. Until now I hadn't realized just how funny you really are.' He floated through the wall. Naruto was oblivious to his new visitor.

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Naruto rested for a minute, got up, went to the ice box, and grabbed an icepack. He pressed it to the bruise sprouting on his forehead. He lay back down and tried to rest.

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The visitor stood next to Naruto's bed. He saw the bruise, "Poor thing… He really doesn't know his own strength…' Naruto had fallen asleep. 'That's not good…' thought the visitor. 'After a bump like that the last thing you want to do is sleep.' The visitor tried to shake Naruto awake, but his hand went straight through. 'Damn it…' He thought for a second. "I know!" He reached for the icepack…

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Ahhh!!!" screamed Naruto as he grabbed the icepack, which had just landed on a sensitive area. "What the hell?!?!?!" He looked around. No one was there. "Huh???"

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The visitor laughed, "Poor thing…" He smiled. Naruto was red. "I can't believe that worked."

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"How did that get there?" thought a confused Naruto. He couldn't remember. All he could remember was laying down. "Where did the icepack come from?" He saw the hole in the wall. "What in the…?" He felt the bruise on his head. "What did I do…" The room started to spin. "Oh cra…" He passed out.

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The visitor was afraid. He watched as Naruto fainted. "This is bad!" He tried to wake him, but with no luck. "He needs medical attention!" The visitor tried to get help, but couldn't communicate with anyone. "Damn it!! Doesn't he ever get any visitors!?!?" Exasperated, he returned to his friend. "Naruto, I'm sorry…"

………

"Where…where am I…" Naruto muttered. The room was pure white. There was nothing, anywhere. No walls, no floor, no ceiling, in fact, it looked as if the room stretched to infinity. "What happened…" He remembered fainting. "Oh my God!!! Did I die!?!"

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"Naruto! Naruto!" yelled the visitor as he tried to revive him, "Wake up!"

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"What…was that…" muttered Naruto. 'naruto…naruto…wake up naruto…' he heard. "Where is that coming from?" He felt someone shaking him, "Is that…"

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"Oh God Naruto, wake up!!!" He shook Naruto as hard as he could. "Damn it Naruto!!!" His eyes started to tear. "Please Naruto…wake up…"

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The voice grew stronger. "Please Naruto…just wake up…' Naruto looked around. "How do I wake up?" He looked around again. "Am I asleep? Or am I dead? What happened?"

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The visitor was crying now. "Please…Naruto…wake up…just open your eyes...wake up…"

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He could feel something warm and wet dripping on him. "What…" His eyes blinked open. He looked up. 'Who is that…" His eyes focused. "Gaara?"

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Gaara smiled, "Hello Naruto." He hugged him tightly, "I was so afraid…" Naruto smiled. "It'll take more than that to take me out." Gaara laughed. Naruto blinked once, and then he was gone. "Gaara…" Naruto frowned. "Was it just a dream?" Naruto wiped his eyes, "Damn it…"

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The door opened. "Naruto?" It was Sakura. "Are you okay… Oh My God!!!" She had seen the massive bruise on Naruto's head. "What happened to you!?!?" Naruto looked at her. "I don't know. All I remember is…" was all that made it out before he collapsed again. Sakura ran to him and called phoned for help. A medical team came and took him.

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"He has a massive concussion, but he should be fine" Sakura nodded and looked back at the sleeping Naruto. "Poor thing, I wonder what happened…" Naruto sighed and opened his eyes. "Hey Sakura…" She smiled, "You idiot, what happened?" Naruto smiled, "I haven't got a clue. All I remember is someone shaking me and crying, then waking up and he was there…" Sakura was confused, "Who was there?" "Gaara…" he replied and fell back asleep.

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Gaara smiled. "I'm glad you're okay Naruto." He sighed. It was time for him to leave. "I'll see you again someday Naruto.' With that, he departed, bound for a place where no one could follow. No one except for maybe Naruto…