There is at least one time in your life when you question everything you've ever known. You stop and look around, take in the sights of everything around you. Then you begin to wonder. You ask yourself, 'How was the world really created. Were we all just meteors until we hit earth?' or maybe, 'How do birds always know which way to fly?'

But the big question that most people ask themselves in these times of pondering is, 'What am I doing?'

This question doesn't mean, 'What am I doing right now?'

No.

This question means, 'What am I doing with my life?'

Was it wrong to make that investment?

What's going to happen?

Is there any way to fix my regrets before it's too late?

Should I have treated people better?

Yes, these are the questions asked at a particular moment in a person's life. And do you know what this particular moment is?

This moment is death.

The time when you stop, and think about what you've done in your life, and what you could've done. The time when you question everything, and realize that maybe there were some things that you could've done better, could've changed.

Right now, I was face-to-face with this moment, these questions.

As I struggled to keep my mind sharp and conscious, I quickly assessed my situation. There were three of us. Soon to be one of us. I gasped in air and took out the sacred scroll that we had rescued from the Sound shinobi.

Too bad we didn't realize that they had followed us back.

I threw the scroll to Ino and grinned as her teal eyes widened. She tried to argue. 'Rikia! No!'

I put up my hand, which took more effort than it should have. 'Go, Ino. Take Naruto and go. He's losing blood fast, and he won't survive much longer. I'll cover you for as long as I can. If we don't get that scroll back to the village, this whole thing will have been for nothing.'

She opened her mouth to argue again, but I spoke first. 'Ino, now I'm not asking you. Now, this is a direct order from your captain. Take Naruto and go.'

I softened my eyes. 'Please.'

Ino finally gave in. She ran over to where an unconscious Naruto lay and hoisted him over her shoulder. She made one final attempt. 'Rikia, they're going to be here any moment, please-'

'It's an order, Ino. You're going to need as much time as possible. I can give you that time.'

She nodded, tears forming in her eyes. 'Oh, why are you crying?' I asked. 'I'll meet up with you later.'

Naruto opened his eyes slightly and mumbled. 'G'bye..Captain..Cap'n..Rikia..'

I sensed someone coming through the trees towards us, rapidly. There were eleven of them. Ino sensed them too, and she took one final look at me before leaping off into the trees with Naruto.

Are you sure you want to do this?

I protect my soldiers. No matter what. You know that.

Yeah, but at the expense of your own life?

No matter what.

The first Sound ninja jumped out of the trees and landed a couple of feet in front of me. Everything on my body hurt like crazy, and the cuts all over were beginning to bleed again.

The Sound ninja walked over and snorted. 'Looks like you didn't die the first time. I gotta admit, you're a gutsy kid. Taking all those attacks and still being able to run away.'

I steadied myself on a tree branch. 'Who said I'm running?'

The rest of the Sound ninja jumped out of the trees. One of them looked amused. 'Oi, Karara, she's gonna fight?'

I glared directly at him. 'Yeah, I'm fighting.'

He laughed. 'Little girl, you're gonna get hurt.'

I smiled innocently.

I'm pretty sure he didn't even see me move. I hurled the kunai from under my wrist, and it hit him directly in the heart. He had just enough time to realize what happened as the smile faded from his face and was replaced by a look of horror. He slid down and fell off of the branch, landing on the ground with a sickening thud.

'I don't think I'm the one who's gonna get hurt.'

The other Sound ninjas stared at their fallen comrade with anger and wonder in their eyes. Then, ten pairs of eyes turned on me, and I realized just how much trouble I was in. They were going to be more alert of my actions now that they had seen what I could do. I took a breath and tried to block out the pain from my injuries.

You ready, Kichi?

Yeah. It's been awesome being your conscious, kid.

You're such a mushy person. Would you stop? We're gonna be fine.

Yeah. Let's go.

I summoned all of my strength and jumped up, landing awkwardly on a branch. I swung out two more kunai. One of them hit a Sound shinobi in the stomach, but the other one was dodged. Okay..Two down, nine to go.

The rest of the Sound shinobi were acting fast. In a matter of seconds, they had me surrounded, with nowhere to go.

I was really in trouble. I had virtually no chakra left, and I was surrounded by the enemy on all sides. Three more shinobi came flying at me, and I dodged two of them, drawing my katana and sticking it through the third ninja's heart. Eight to go.

The two ninjas who I dodged came flying back at me, and I spun around to find myself face-to-face with another ninja. I got up all of the chakra I had left and punched the tree in front of me, sending a hail of sharp branches down on the two ninja in back of me. Six to go.

Out of nowhere, a kunai came flying out from a bush and pinned my left shoulder to the tree bark behind me. I struggled to get free, but the kunai was deeply embedded in the tree.

Five more Sound ninja were immediately in front of me. One of them stepped forward and grabbed me by the chin. He sneered at me and sent a foot flying at my stomach. I gasped in pain, sending me to my knees. 'Stupid little girl. You shoulda listened to your buddy and ran away. Now you're gonna die. And as soon as we're done here, we're going to find your little friends!'

'No!' I screamed, lunging upwards. I punched the Sound ninja in the face, sending him reeling across the tree branch and hurtling down to the forest floor. There's no way he could have survived. The other four Sound shinobi attacked immediately, and within a minute, all four of them were dead.

One more…Where is he…?

I don't know, I can't sense anyone. But be super careful. If they can mask their chakra like this, they have to be stronger than the rest of them.

I stumbled down from the tree branch, my cuts beginning to bleed badly now. I staggered over to a rock and leaned against it, trying to give myself time to relax while still being aware of my surroundings.

It all happened to fast, I wasn't really sure what happened. The next thing I knew, I felt a searing pain in my chest. I looked down slowly and saw a katana sticking straight out of my chest.

I fell to the ground, clutching the sword, and the last Sound shinobi got down on one knee. It was the one that the others had called Karara. 'Hello, little ninja.'

There was no way I could talk. It hurt too much to breathe, let alone talk.

Everything was starting to go black. I struggled to get up and fight, but I could tell that this was the end.

Strangely enough, I wasn't so scared. It was like an eerie peace was just kinda…there.

I looked up into Karara's face, but I didn't feel the anger that I should have. I could only stare and try to speak. Karara stood up and kicked me in the face. I rolled across the dirt floor, but I felt no pain.

I could hardly see anything anymore. Everything was black.

But I heard Karara sigh. 'Oh, I was so looking forward to killing you…Oh well. Because you fought honorably although the odds were against you, I'll let you live. Although with that injury, you won't last more than an hour.'

I didn't care what he had to say anymore. There were so many things running through my mind. How is Naruto gonna know where I put the extra nachos?

Shh. Just relax, Rikia…It'll be over soon…

Kichi…What's happening?

Karara's leaving. Reinforcements from the village are coming.

No…I mean…what's happing to me?

Don't worry.

Am I dying, Kichi?

Yeah, Rikia…I think you are.

Is it okay that I'm not scared?

It's better for you. Just calm down and relax. You might make it.

No, it's okay.

Kichi didn't answer. I guess she was listening to what was happening. I heard several people landing on the ground near me, and I heard voices. 'Look, it's Captain Rikia!'

Footsteps running towards me. Someone touched my forehead. 'She doesn't have a lot of time. We need to get her out of here, now.'

Someone picked me up. I opened my eyes slightly and looked into someone's eyes. I mumbled something, and then realized that the katana was no longer in my chest.

'Shh, Rikia. We won't let you die.'

I guess they thought I had passed out, because I heard someone else running next to whoever was carrying me. 'Is she really gonna make it, Kakashi?'

'I don't think so…but…I have to try and save her..'

His voice became choked with emotion. 'I can't let her die..I just can't…'

So that's it…I'm gonna die…

From then on, I wasn't aware of anything that was happening. I was floating through nothingness, and I was peaceful. This is what it felt like to die.

My chest started hurting again, and I knew that this was probably going to be my last breath. I took a deep breath and felt my heart stop beating immediately. For a second, I became afraid because I couldn't breathe, but then I was relaxed again. I was okay.

I heard Kakashi yelling. 'My God…Rikia! No! Stay with me, Rikia! Rikia! All of you, hurry up! She's dying!'

Nope, Kakashi, I was already gone. But thanks for trying, I guess. There's nothing you could've done.

Kakashi's voice faded. I couldn't hear anything.

I opened my eyes, and felt a warm breeze on my face. I was in a…field?

Quickly, I sat up. No hole in my chest.

I looked up and saw a lady in white standing across the field. Then she was in front of me. I gasped. 'W-who are you?'

The lady in white smiled. She was beautiful. 'Hello, Rikia. My name is not important. What's important is your choice. You're dead, do you know that?'

I nodded and looked down at the grass. 'Yeah, I know…'

'Do you want to go back?'

I looked up quickly. 'What?'

'You can go back, if you want.'

'No…I don't think I should…I mean, I don't have any family because-'

The lady held up a hand. 'You don't have to say it. I know what happened to your family.'

'Yeah, well…I don't have much to live for. I mean, I have friends and everything, but…I don't love anyone…and well, it's okay for me to die, I guess.'

'No, Rikia. You need to go back.'

I was confused. 'What? But you gave me a choice…'

The lady laughed. 'Rikia, there are things for you to do. Go back, and I promise it will all be alright. Do you trust me?'

Surprisingly, I did. So I nodded and stood up in front of the lady. She placed a hand over my heart and said, 'What do you think I am?'

'I don't know…but…I think you're an angel.'

I began to glow. 'Maybe you're right. That's for you to find out. But know this. You will have to return to this place very soon.'

Then she was gone, and I my eyes flew open, only to be burned by the fluorescent lights of the hospital.