Yaaay! Another Naruto-centric Fanfiction! As in "Truth and Reasons", I got fed up with how long it was taking to write this out. It was originally going to be another one-shot but, because I'm now up to 30 pages and I'm still not finished (I'm stuck on a fight scene), I thought I'd put this up to see what people think of it.

So, let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy it!

The Beginning Of Death

Naruto awoke to find himself slumped against a close to rundown traditional Japanese wooden house. He looked around to find a street with houses, or rather shacks, of a similar fashion. The ground was rough and dusty and the few people who were in the street looked quite poor. There were old wooden boxes scattered here and there, some of them broken, some of them whole. There were three boys looking to be in their pre-teens playing a little ways up the street from him. However, while they looked happy and quite content with their game, Naruto could see the eyes of the few adults that wandered the street. Their eyes told him of hardship. Their eyes told him the truth of this place. It was a sad and depressing as it looked.

"So… this is the afterlife, hmm?" he murmured quietly.

Be under no illusion, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze knew he was dead. He knew exactly how he died too. He knew he had died while trying to avoid the captivity of Madara Uchiha with one of his closest friends Gaara, the Kazekage of Suna. He had gone with Gaara too help a shinobi team who had fallen into a trap with valuable information regarding the allied villages battle plans, much to the worry and irritation of many protesting friends and family members. The other Kages had been against it entirely, as the two of them were quite valuable in to their side in war. Alas, much to the amusement of Naruto, Gaara had politely informed them that they were not asking for permission to go, simply informing them of the decision in case anyone wondered were they had "trotted of to". Naruto had laughed out loud as the very un-Gaara like phrase flowed out of his mouth and into the stunned faces of every occupant in the room. Even in death, he couldn't forget the uncomprehending looks the Kages had on their faces as the pair had swiftly jumped out the window and to the aid of the team.

And aid the team they did, but at the last second, another trap had been set and the two had gotten caught. Faced then, surprisingly, by Sasuke Uchiha and Madara Uchiha, himself, a violent battle ensued with the Uchihas seeming to be fighting the two with ease. A stroke of luck and reinforcements arrived. While Sasuke, to his utter fury, was distracted with others Gaara and Naruto fought Madara, no matter how many people be it Kage or otherwise tried to take over. With Naruto's newfound speed, acquired from the absorption of the Kyùbi, he had told Gaara of a plan he was going to use against Madara. It needed exact timing and a partner and Gaara had agreed readily.

When the right opportunity arose, the pair took it and rammed kunai covered in seals as an extra pre caution into Madara's heart and throat. Still, even with his last dying breath Madara laughed, seeing something neither teen could in time. Sasuke. Sasuke, using Amaterasu, set the three ninjas a light, listening impassively as Naruto and Gaara screamed in agony at the pain created by the wild looking black flames. The three were dead before anyone realised the sight of their heroes and enemy burning to death was a reality…

Naruto sighed heavily, as he looked up to the blue sky of the afterlife. Well, at least it's the same as the one in life. I bet it has clouds too; Shikamaru would appreciate that little bit of knowledge. That, yes, even if he dies he can still laze about in the afterlife doing nothing but watch the clouds go by. Naruto chuckled at the thought and smiled at the sky. After a minute or so, however, his face became somber and he bowed his head to visit the deepest recesses of his mind, where he knew he'd find a giant red fox with nine flowing tails.

The chamber was the same as it usually was with the exception of the solid gold bars and seal, which had all but disappeared. As he entered the chamber, Naruto noticed the fox was sitting up straight watching him walk in with a blank stare, as if he had been waiting for him. There were no gates, or seals to protect Naruto from the fox now, but this didn't worry him. As he stopped in front of the enormous spiritual demon, said demon made no move to attack. They stared at each other ignoring the passing of time because, when your dead, did it really matter how much time you spent doing something?

"You died" the fox stated the obvious, breaking the silence.

"I did. Your point?"

"Are you happy now?" Naruto narrowed his bright blue eyes dangerously but made no other move that even hinted at the fact he had heard the fox's question. The fox sneered, but went on to explain.

"I mean, you killed Uchiha Madara and saved all of your precious people from a mad man bent on changing the world for the worst. On top of that, you avenged your parents and other precious people who died by his hand. Sure, you didn't become Hokage. Yes, you didn't make the other Uchiha runt see the "light". Yes, you'll never see those precious people again, or eat ramen, or succeed or fail a mission, or even get a mission, at all, ever again, but, hey, it was worth it. You died for a good cause and that's all that matters, right? So, I'm asking, are you glad your dead?"

The fox sneered cruelly once again when he noticed that Naruto had, at some point during his rant, stopped glaring into his cold, blood red eyes and was now staring blankly at the fox's massive paws. He was silent. Needless to say, this amused the fox greatly.

"Oh, I'm sorry" he said in a sickly sweet tone, "did I upset you with that list? Or was it the constant reminder your now dead, having achieved hardly anything you wanted to?"

A pause. A pause that echoed around the chamber they were in. And then, Naruto looked up into the slightly unbelieving eyes of the demon fox with a small genuine smile.

"No, but you offended me greatly by not mentioning certain things like, said mad man being the most powerful shinobi the living world has known, thus making me one of the most powerful ninja to ever exist by defeating him. Also, you forgot to mention that I eliminated the threat of anyone endangering my friends or the people of Konoha by looking for the power of the Nine Tailed Fox. I, also, eliminated the threat of you ever being released. And, what do you mean, "hardly achieved anything you wanted to"? I achieved lots! I made a close circle of friends, became the village hero after years of isolation, saved hundreds of people from themselves, as well as others. I became a Toad Sage, for God's sake! So, I didn't become Hokage. Boo hoo! What am I going to do about it? I'm dead. Besides, I had the power level of one and the ability to be one and I had none of the paperwork of the Hokage either. That said, why would I complain?"

Naruto finished his equally long rant and waited for the Kyùbi to say something, succeeding the amazing feat of masking, with a serene and patient smile, the laughter and giggles that were bubbling in his chest. The fox's face was a hilarious mixture of emotions and he could seem to decide on whether to; A) snarl furiously at being shown up, B) laugh at the "stupidity" of the person in front of him or C) stare in disbelief, suspicion and/or horror at Naruto, as he had completed his rant in a calm and cheery tone. Start to finish without once raising his voice and indicating any other emotions other than calm and well… cheery.

He finally decided on an unsettled, uncomfortable look to accompany his comment.

"Your way too optimistic, you know that, right?"

"I do. I also believe it's quite healthy to be that way. I also thought you knew these bits of info as well. Hmm, I must have been wrong".

His eyes were amused and his tone was implying, but Naruto really hoped the Kyùbi didn't take the bait. He didn't feel like running from a giant fox and he had come to talk about something a little more important than his level of optimism. After a death glare and a threatening snarl, Naruto decided to share the real reason he came to the chamber with Kyùbi.

"I didn't come here to banter with you like in days of the living, as amusing as it is. I came to say that while I was alive I created a few theories around the seal that caged you in me and what would happen to you when I died. It seems that one of my theories is checking out and that we are bound together spiritually through our souls and as much as I hate to admit it and we both may hate to believe it, it seems…" Naruto paused and sighed quietly.

"It seems we are stuck with each other for the unforeseeable future" the fox finished, having seen where the blond boy was going.

"Exactly, that said I have to ask you. Can you deal with that? Can you live with me for an indefinite amount of time?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"I'm trying to give you one".

Silence. A deafening silence chilled the large chamber in which a large red fox with nine flowing tails openly stared at the blond haired, blue eyed boy in front of him. The boy would not free him. They both knew that, but then… What was he offering?

"Explain"

"It would not be freedom and I do not have the knowledge at the moment to know how to go about doing anything about this bond we share, but it would be something for me to focus on and it would be an escape from me and possible escape to freedom in future. So, what do you say? You're my responsibility, but if you want, I'm willing to give you that choice."

The Kyùbi was stunned but he didn't show it. He thought long and hard about this offer, he was surprised the boy was still waiting patiently. After thinking about it for a few more minutes the fox decided to speak.

"The offer is…tempting, but, far too up in the air for my liking. Even if you were to some how split us and re-seal me, it wouldn't be a human vessel would it? No, it would be an inanimate object that would be left on a shelf somewhere gathering dust. The chance of freedom may be higher but how many centuries of boredom would I have to wait before it came? Too many for my liking, I have a better chance at some miniscule amount of entertainment if I stay as the darker side of your soul."

"So, let me get this straight? Even after an entire lifetime of trying to take over my body and escape and ignoring the fact that you hate the very essence that makes me, you still want to be the darker half of my being after being offered a better chance of freedom?" Naruto was sceptical.

He was nearly sure the fox would have said yes. Still, when actually thinking it through, it would have been more trouble than the separation would be worth. Kyùbi's eyes flashed dangerously at Naruto's question and he moved to stand on all fours, rather than sit on his haunches.

"Flesh Bag, my reasons should be none of your concern. Your lucky I even gave you reasons, you pathetic-" he began, but Naruto cut him off before he could start.

"Alright, alright! Easy! I was only asking. Jeez, oh and by the way, I'm dead and in the spirit world now so technically, you can't-"

The enormous fox cut him off with a roar. Enraged at the insolence of the whelp trying to out do him with wits and really just looking for a good fight the Kyùbi charged at the ready Naruto. However, just as they were about to collide, they froze and looked up.

"Someone's trying to wake me" Naruto said, stating what they both felt.

"We'll finish this later, brat." Naruto smirked as he returned to the proverbial world of the proverbial living… Or something to that effect.

Gaara had had a long and tiring day and he hadn't even been awake in the afterlife twenty minutes yet. He had awoke to find himself lying in the middle of the street beside his first and most loyal friend, Naruto Uzumaki, only to find that said friend was dead to the world (no pun intended) and was not waking anytime soon and that he, himself, did not recognise the street he was lying in. So, after moving Naruto up against the side of one of the shacks (they couldn't really be called anything else), Gaara went to ask the poor looking locals where in the heck he was, while trying to keep an eye on his still unconscious friend.

Fifteen minutes and many pitying looks later and we find a newly enlightened and very unsettled, Gaara. That woman looked like she wanted to hug me, and why was that man looking at me like that? I find out I'm dead and all of a sudden everyone wants to show me comfort and give me pity. I'm a ninja; I was expecting to die at some point.

Gaara headed back to sit down against the shack beside Naruto and wait for him to wake up. Another 5 minutes and Gaara was becoming bored just waiting. However, when he saw Naruto's fingers twitch, Gaara decided to try and wake Naruto. Shaking the blonde gently, he saw sky blue eyes begin to flutter open. Naruto looked around feigning sleepiness as he usually did after speaking with his tenant. Gaara gave a small smile at the familiar action. Naruto always pretended to be asleep when someone interrupted a conversation or a meditation session. Gaara found it odd but never asked Naruto why he did it. It was just something Naruto did and Gaara could accept that. Finally, Naruto focused on Gaara.

"Hey Gaara. We're dead, aren't we?" It was more of a statement than a question, but Gaara nodded anyway. Naruto nodded in return to show he understood.

"You still have the Kyùbi sealed in you" Gaara confirmed. Naruto nodded again.

"We had a very interesting conversation. Do you know, he thinks I'm too optimistic?"

"He's right."

"Shut up! I'll have you know, I have a healthy level of optimism, that a lot of people could learn from."

"Naruto, not only does that not make sense, but, I must point out that before you died, you thought a staple diet of ramen was healthy, so you can't really say anything without being a hypocrite."

"I don't believe it. My own friend is siding with a demon fox, over me."

"Only when he's right."

Naruto groaned in defeat and grumbled about the unfairness of it all as he got to his feet with Gaara. Once up, he stretched, pulling and cracking various different muscles and joints. When he was done, he turned to Gaara with a smile and put his hands behind his head.

"So, what do we do now?" he asked.

"We should walk around and find out more information about this place and get the layout of the area. Then we can think about what we'll do next." Gaara answered quickly, still thinking like the commanding leader he used to be.

"You know, Gaara we're not at war anymore. At least, I don't think we are" Naruto teased. Gaara glared but a very light pink hue could be seen dusting his cheeks. It was the only evidence of his embarrassment. Naruto sniggered. Gaara's glare and blush intensified.

"Do you have a better idea?" he challenged.

"No and I'll happily follow your orders, sir. I just thought I should remind you of the tiny fact, that we are not at war, Commander General, sir" Naruto struggled to hold his giggles.

"Good to know, Genin Naruto. But, I'll correct you on just one thing," Gaara said firmly and clearly. Naruto spluttered at the Genin comment and glared with equal intensity at Gaara.

" And what would that be may I ask?" Gaara smirked.

"I was Regimental Commander, not Commander General."

Naruto blinked. Naruto blinked, again, and then he burst out laughing. His laugh was contagious and Gaara found his smirk turn into a small smile. Gaara sometimes wished he could laugh as easily as Naruto could. He was about to turn and lead the way up the street, when Naruto called him back.

"Hey Gaara, what about your gourd?"

Gaara turned, intent on telling Naruto that, since he was dead, how could his gourd possibly-

There it was. His gourd resting against the shack, in the same place Gaara had just been sitting. How hadn't he noticed it? Walking the few steps he had taken back, Gaara picked it up and placed it on his back. It felt warm, comfortable and right. He then noticed something shining out of the corner of his eye, but Naruto had already bent to pick up his headband before Gaara could say anything. When Naruto turned back to Gaara, he noticed how different Naruto looked without it. While he may not have noticed it originally, Gaara had to admit Naruto didn't look right without his headband. Naruto smiled proudly as if reading Gaara's thoughts.

"Shall we go?" he asked, putting his hands behind his head again in a relaxed manner. Gaara nodded and once again began to lead the way. As Naruto followed, he started a very one-sided conversation. Gaara smiled another small smile and realised as he listened, he was happy.

If Gaara could change the past neither he nor Naruto would have died. He couldn't though and Gaara accepted the fact that he was dead and while he knew it was selfish, he was very happy he did not die alone. He was happy he had died with Naruto, one of, if not the closest friend Gaara had, by his side. Besides, if he was being honest, Gaara had never had much time for feelings of guilt or selfishness anyway.

They'd been walking for little over an hour, having short conversations every now and then with people of interest and commenting to each other about certain things they noticed in the world around them. They headed towards the edge of the village, neither of the pair in any particular mood to deal with lots of people, considering the looks they were already getting. They saw a field of grass and a forest at the end of the street they were walking in, when they stopped and turned to each other, seemly for no other reason than to talk. Even as they talked their eyes were searching for their followers. When they spotted the three kids staring at them from an alleyway near by, they relaxed slightly and Gaara asked Naruto something that had been bothering him for a while.

"Naruto, why do you think I still have my gourd with me in the afterlife? You didn't seem that surprised to find it, along with your headband."

Gaara knew that Naruto wasn't the sharpest kunai in the ninja pack, but what he didn't have in intellect, he made up for in unique thinking and observation skills. While he was by no means a genius, Naruto had an ability to figure things out in unusual ways that many wouldn't think of.

Gaara had noticed this ability early on in their friendship, so he had been surprised when he found out only a handful of other people knew of this ability.

"Well, think about it," Naruto answered simply, "aside from when we first got here, have you ever seen me without my headband?" It was a simple question and very easily answered.

"No, I don't think I have but, that's not really an explanation" Gaara answered quietly.

"It is and it isn't" Naruto explained cryptically.

"Go on."

"Well, I have two theories. One; is that we love these two possessions so much that they have become a part of us. For us to be without them, well, it would be like missing an arm or something."

"But I don't love my gourd. It's just something I carry my sand in. It's like a kunai holster. You won't see a ninja without their kunai holster, but that doesn't mean it becomes a part of them. If it did we'd have them with us now" Gaara pointed out.

"Which, leads me on to my second theory." Naruto continued, "Chakra."

"Chakra?" Gaara asked sceptically, not seeing where Naruto was going.

"You know that chakra is made up of physical and spiritual energy. It's one of the first things you learn in the academy."

"You didn't learn that in the academy," Gaara smirked in amusement.

"No, but Sakura has said it to me so many times, it's kinda stuck in my head," Naruto grumbled.

"She'd be so proud of you right now. Were those her exact words?" Gaara teased, thoroughly enjoying the look of annoyance on Naruto's face. There was no pause, reminding the pair that they would not see Sakura or any of their friends and family again in the near future. There wasn't a moment longing or nostalgia for their old life. There never would be. Neither Gaara nor Naruto would let that moment pass. If it did the feeling would stay with both of them and they both knew they didn't want or need that feeling.

"Can I continue?" Naruto growled.

"I don't know. Can you?"

Naruto glared daggers at Gaara, before closing his eyes and lifting his head to the sky in a silent prayer for patience. Gaara quietly sniggered, but on the inside he was laughing loudly and proudly. After he finished praying or counting to ten, Gaara wasn't sure which, Naruto opened his eyes and looked back at Gaara, continuing his explanation.

"Chakra is made up of physical and spiritual energy. When you made that gourd, you infused it and it's contents with your chakra. This means it has your spirit energy in it, which means, because you had it with you when you died, we can assume that the spirit energy the gourd is infused with joined together with the spirit energy that was in you and both you and it crossed over together." A moment passed as Gaara processed the theory. It seemed logical, but he still had some questions.

"How'd you know I made my gourd?"

"I assumed." Gaara blinked. That was a good assumption. No one had ever figured out that Gaara made his own gourd, not that anyone was brave enough to care. If they were, they didn't ask.

"How does that explain your headband?

"When I gather nature chakra for Sage Mode, I gather it through all parts of my body and change it into my own chakra. Also, I often instinctively built up my chakra and surrounded myself with it before I tried to shape it or force it to do something, when I was training. I also do that when I use the Kyùbi's chakra. This also explains why we're wearing our normal clothes instead of clothes similar to the people here, because when you changed into Shukaku and create your sand armour, you did something similar to surrounding yourself with chakra."

Gaara looked down at himself then at the people around him. He was wearing his old clothes. The ones he wore after he and Naruto truly became friends. Not only that but both his clothes and Naruto's clothes were not only cleaner than they'd ever been before, but they were completely different to everyone else's. Gaara looked back at Naruto with a clear question in his eyes. How did I not notice that? It's so obvious. Naruto patted Gaara on the shoulder consolingly, but his eyes were shining with amusement, not pity. Gaara took comfort from this.

Looking at Naruto Gaara noticed something amiss.

"Where's your kunai holster?"

"I wasn't wearing it when I died. It was cut off my leg earlier in the fight. In fact, I was lucky it wasn't my leg that was cut off." Naruto joked.

There was finally a pause as Gaara once again processed the theory, along with the new information. It did make logical sense. Gaara finally nodded in acceptance. Finding their stalkers still hadn't moved from their hiding place, the pair of ninja decide to address them the old fashioned way.

"Betcha' I can reach them before you can," Naruto challenge playfully.

"You think we can still run that fast?" Gaara asked, smirking at typical Naruto thinking.

"I think we can run faster since we're nothing but spirit. Still, only one way to find out" Naruto said cheerfully, refusing to acknowledge his friends negativity.

And with that they disappeared in flashes of red and yellow.

Meanwhile, in an alleyway three curious kids watched as the interesting strangers disappeared. The three had followed the pair of strangers since they had seen them talking in the middle of the street. The three kids had listened in on some of their conversation, which sounded really weird to say the least and decided to follow them to find out more. Then they just disappeared. It wasn't fair; they had been too far away to hear most of the pair's conversation and all they had really learnt was that the two were new souls to the Soul Society and were looking around.

"Ah! Where'd they go?" asked one in surprise.

"I don't know, Koga, but we better get outta here before they find us!" said another.

"Oh, come on, Riku. They don't know we were following them. Besides, even if they did know, why would they bother to try and find us? We're kids. We're not worth their time, right Sanji?" Koga exclaimed, looking towards the final member of the group. There was a long pause.

When asked about his intellect, Sanji would often say he did what he needed to survive and that was all anyone needed to know. He relied on his instincts and street smarts to get him what he needed and help him survive. But sometimes the thrill of adventure clouded his judgment and deafened his instincts. Sanji had seen both strangers glance at the spot he and his friends were standing in. It was a lazy glance, one from each stranger, at two completely different times. While it seemed completely uncaring, it was enough to make Sanji uneasy. And now seeing the speed at which the pair had disappeared with, Sanji was beginning to think that following them had been a bad idea all along and that this was one of those times his judgement had been clouded. The call from Koga brought Sanji back to the present.

"…I don't think they noticed us following them, but I agree with Riku about getting outta here. If they did notice us, I don't think they'd care if we were kids. I think they'd want to know why were following them more than anything else," Sanji rationalised.

"Your right in that assumption" a dry hollow voice whispered into the near empty alley. The three boys froze in fear and their eyes dart around, searching for the source of the voice in the suddenly eerily quiet alley.

It was like an invisible, dark and oppressive cloud descended over the alleyway. Riku began to shake, he was on the verge of tears he was so afraid. Koga and Sanji noticed this and while Koga grabbed his hand in reassurance, Sanji pushed both of them the wall beside a stack of crates and stood in front of them defensively, but far enough away that he could see the entire alley from where he stood. Koga held Riku in a reassuring hug planning to use his body to protect the youngest of them if he needed to. A minute passed and the alley was still quiet. The air was heavy and suffocating. Riku clutched Koga's shirt tightly as he hid in the embrace, still shaking. Sanji and Koga were still looking for the source of the voice, planning to run as fast as possible in the opposite direction when they found it. Another minute of silence passed and the threatening air hadn't gone away. Finally, Koga picked up the courage to ask;

"Sanji, do you think that voice was one of the strangers?"

"I'm sure of it."

Another, minute passed and Sanji and Koga could feel a cold sweat develop on the back of their necks. Riku had closed his eyes and buried his face into Koga's chest. Koga asked another question;

"Do you think they're gone?"

Sanji glared at the farthest entry to the alley from him, before slowly scanning the rest of the alley.

"No, they're not gone. But I don't know where they are."

"Behind you."

I'm annoyed at how out of character Gaara is, even though I tried to put him in character, like I did with Shikamaru in "Trueth and Reasons". It's more obvious in the second half of this but there's not much I can do about it because I need him like that for the story. Anyway, I suppose a bit of poetic licence never went amiss on this stuff. I hope you enjoyed it and let me know if you want more!