Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me save for several OCs

You know, I never thought that I would die so young. Okay, maybe not like twelve years old or anything like that. But isn't eighteen years old still considered young?

My death had been… swift for a lack of better word. I had just started my internship a few months back. For six months I was attached to a hotel and had to switch between two departments before I could graduate. Maybe it was because I was a couch potato and maybe it was also because I was an only child so whatever I wanted my parents would give it to me.

I rarely did chores, I tend to give in to urges to splurge on random things and at times I might not even use the items. I avoided responsibilities like the plague. And if anyone has ever recorded my physical activity they would soon notice that it was abysmal. Basically, I was a spoiled brat who had an easy life and never really tasted the real world.

I had it all planned. I thought I did. Or maybe, I was just following my mother's plan. By twenty I would have a degree, a diploma and work experience from a well-known hospitality industry. I would have my own money. I would be independent. I would know the direction of my own future.

But I was wrong.

Like usual, I waited for a friend of mine. We both finished around 11 and usually she comes out later because of the reports she needed to save. My eyes burned, my ears were ringing and all I wanted to do was sleep. But I still waited for her.

Everything was fine. We talked, laughed, walked across the street and separated at her bus stop. I could have taken the bus but I always walk back home. I stopped, sneezed and ended up taking several steps back. When I brought my hand away, I realized there were specks of blood and that something hot was running down my nose, my lips and down to my chin.

Nosebleeds were a pretty common thing with me. Too tired, nosebleed. Too hot, nosebleed. Too cold, nosebleed. Picked my nose too much, nosebleed. It's normal.

…

Well, that last one was a given.

What I didn't realize was, in that split second that I was forced to take several steps back, I ended up standing right in front of an incoming bus. The bus honks, but my muscles wouldn't move. Then I got hit.

Funnily enough, despite having a plan for my future, I never thought I would live past thirty. Maybe that was a sign. Remember when they said that during moments like this your life flashes before your eyes? Like all your important memories?

Yeah, it actually happened. But not all were important. I recalled my first sleepover, my first time cheating on a test, my classmate's birthday party, the time I bought a pair of lipstick in a new shade, screaming on a roller coaster ride, my first kiss, pretending not to listen when my parents are screaming at each other the room next door- they were all so random.

And then, darkness.

Cold washes over me. It drowns me, pressures me, engulfs me. Then suddenly it stops. Colors begin to bloom and now I am standing above my body. My cold dead body, covered in blood and dirt. I retched but so far I could only look like I was miming to throw up.

Then a window popped up above my body. Game Over

I stared at the little window as if it was the only thing that mattered. Never mind that I had just died. Never mind that I am no longer in the real world. I stared, and stared and stared till the words are burnt inside my mind. I ignored the crowding people around me, and continued to stare till it makes sense.

The window expanded, New Game? Yes/No with a little arrow besides the options.

My life was a game? A small part of me quipped that there were jokes that when you suddenly forgot what you wanted to do or say it was because God or some other almighty being had canceled your actions.

It kind of made sense, and if I think about, things like our jobs or daily tasks were more of mini games for whoever is controlling us right? Major decisions that we took are the things that are progressing our stories, usually with our theme song playing in the back ground except we can't hear them.

I had thought about this several times while I was alive. Maybe this was the way the world or some other higher being wanted to teach me a lesson. What with my previous life showed how much of a lazy bum I was. But still… was my life really a game? A form of entertainment for someone else?

The thought made me sad and emptier instead of angry. Was I even real? Were my choices ever my own? Why did I die? What's going-

"Hello."

I hadn't realized that I was crying until I looked up and could only see blurs. Could spirits cry?

"Huwah?"

"Hello." The voice repeated. Directed to me.

"H-Hi?"

I rubbed my eyes furiously and looked at the person who was addressing me. Me. Who died. Like dead.

"Y-You can see me?" I whispered. And then I nearly screamed because it was me standing right in front of me. A copy of me. Another exact version of me standing across me. And we were standing above the 'dead' me on the ground.

Oh yes. This must be some sort of sick cosmic joke.

"Yes, I am you." The not-me said. Oh god she even sounds like me! "Though I am supposed to take on the appearance of someone important to you while I talk with you."

"But why myself?" The words came out like a strangled wheeze and maybe I was. Wheezing and being strangled that is.

The not-me tilted her head. "You weren't close with anyone else." She said with a tone that practically screamed 'duh'.

I winced and stammered out an excuse. "I- I have friends! We were-"

"No I didn't mean it like that. I meant that there was nobody within the eighteen years of your life that made a life changing impact on you."

"That sounds even worse!" I shrieked.

"Well it was your life." Not-me reminded.

"No the player that was using me as an avatar decided that!" I screamed and pointed at the window above my dead body. I panted, dropping to my knees. Is a spirit capable of being tired? Am I a spirit? What the fuck am I now? And holy shit I just raised my voice.

I hated yelling. It makes me tired. It makes me-

I froze. "Sorry…. I didn't mean to yell." My voice was so small that I doubt not-me could hear it. I want to get angry. I am angry. But I'm upset as well. I'm confused. I'm- Oh wait. I'm dead. Haha. Jokes on me.

"No, it's fine." She sighs tiredly. She frowns, and I wonder if I looked so much older when I do that because that's how my face looked right now. "That isn't supposed to show up till I give you a proper full length explanation actually, so I get where you're coming from."

She waves her hand and the scene around us changes. I recognized the place instantly. It was my high school classroom. It looked and smelled just like the last time I was there. Pens and other miscellaneous things were on the floor, the slightly bent window shutters, the smell of gum, candy and textbooks, the white board that was filled with a chemistry equation and the sound from the hallway outside.

Why did she choose this place?

I was seated in my own seat while not-me sat on top of the table across me. She offers me a slight smile.

"Hello, my name is Eltri. In another world, I am you."

The thought of my life being a joke suddenly makes so so much more sense.

"Erm." I managed intelligibly.

"Have you ever thought about other parallel worlds?" The other me questions.

I nodded my head. "Well, in another world, I am you. And you are me in this world."

Deep down I mentally thank all those time travel, parallel world related manga/anime/books and hell even fanfics! Because if it weren't for them I would've looked stupid.

"How many parallels are there?"

"Infinite." She answers. "Are we in a paradox?" "That's only if either of us time travelled." "Then how did you get to meet me?" "Your death actually."

Ah, and here I thought I would actually understand what the other me was talking about.

At my confused expression, Eltri continued on. "I can't contact the living but I can contact the dead or the dying ones."

"Okay… Why are you here then? Why did I die so young? What are you? And why-" Eltri cuts me with a sudden clap that made me jump in my seat. I eyed her a look that she returns with a raised brow.

"I'll explain this is all in one go so listen well and listen carefully." She sighs as if speaking to a child. Oh god, was I ever this annoying to my friends? Sheesh, no wonder they always roll their eyes at me when I'm explaining! 'I can't believe that I managed to annoy myself' I thought glumly.

"In my world we have magic, as in yes the ones where you could manipulate gravity, change the color of your hair with a snap of a finger and transforming into various things." Before I could even get a word in, she barrels on with a look as if daring me to say anything to cut her off. I didn't and pressed my mouth shut.

"And as always, there is always a lunatic who wants to rule the world. Or destroy it, really there's actually no difference. Believe me, I've seen it myself." I nodded. By this point I would believe anyone if they told me that the moon is made of cheese. "I along with several other people are tasked with… maintaining balance in my world. Unfortunately he seems to know our weaknesses and exploited them."

"Most of us are currently incapacitated from previous fights and the remaining ones are too heavily injured to fight back including myself. As long as there are survivors, there's nothing much that he can do to our world." Eltri sighs. "We all split up and went into hiding while trying to get our strengths back. I do not know where the others went since we left without telling each other but I think it's for the best."

She pinches the bridge of her nose. "And as for you, I'm sorry to say that you died young. But eighteen years is actually pretty long compared to the rest of us from the other timelines."

"How old were they when they died?"

"They either die at childbirth or before 10. There are several worlds where we died at our 20's to 30's but we were actually tortured or murdered in a not so swift way." Eltri murmurs, her voice soft.

I froze in place as my mind blanks out on me. I either die young or get murdered. That's just…

"Will you die young too?" My other self blinks. "No. I'm immortal."

Jealousy and fear spreads through me. "That's not fair…" The words slipped out of me before I realized what I had just said. But really, how is it not?

Seemingly able to feel my distress, Eltri spoke up. "I think you have the wrong concept of immortality. While I might not die from falling off of a building or being drowned, that does not mean I am immune to the pain. It still hurts like shit. And technically I can actually 'die'. If I'm torn into pieces, burnt into ashes, I would still feel the pain. Also I have the slowest resurrection and regeneration speed than the rest of us so that's a total downside too."

And now I am both thoroughly embarrassed and as well. It swallows up both my fear and jealousy but a small nagging part of me still spoke up that it wasn't fair. I tried to squash it down and forced myself to look into Eltri's eyes. Though the second she looked back I looked away and slumped against my seat.

"Sorry." It was the second time I apologized to her within the span of the time that we first met, which couldn't be more than thirty minutes or so. Wonderful. I seem to be a douchebag even to myself and still am emotionally constipated.

"No, it's okay I got used to it." She replied in a tone that sounded as if this was the billionth time she had to explain herself.

"Now back to answering your questions from before, I am a human capable of performing magic whose job is to maintain balance to my own world with several others. And I'm actually using the term 'maintaining balance' very loosely I might add. What my presence had to do with you is that I was actually planning on hiding in your world. But then I didn't know that you were going to die that very moment."

"I still don't understand…"

"Simply put, I could only enter worlds and timelines where and when the 'me' in that world is still alive. If the 'me' in that world dies then I can no longer come and go as I please because the other 'me' is like a portal. I can only stay within the other me's subconscious but when they die then I'll get ejected out of the body and world. Erm, still with me?"

"Amazingly yes," I mumbled as my eyes widened in realization. "So you were going to possess me if I hadn't suddenly kicked the bucket?"

Eltri shook her head. "No, possession is taking over the host. I said I would sleep in your consciousness. Besides the fact that possession takes a lot of energy –which I do not have- if that lunatic from my world suddenly came into this world, he would easily single me out for having memorized my presence."

"But if you did have the energy," I pressed, "would you?"

My other worldly counterpart gave me an odd look. "Now why would I do that?"

"Why wouldn't you?" I countered.

"Because I'm not entirely you. We may be each other's counterpart for another world but you are still an individual of your own and I am mine. If I possessed you just because I can, wouldn't that mean I'm robbing your privileges? Wouldn't that just make me a bully and a thief?"

Well… I never thought of it that way.

"So… why am I here then?"

"Back up plan."

"Back up plan?" I parroted. "What back up plan?"

"Remember when I told you that if we want to enter to another world, the other world needs to have another version of yourself for you to enter?" I nodded. "Yeah, that's why I needed you."

I stared. "I need your soul to help enter a new world actually."

"But why not just enter another world with another 'us' that's still alive?"

"That was the original plan but now I'm using the backup plan."

"Why?"

"Because that crazy bastard had went off on a killing spree and destroyed countless of parallel worlds that has me and my friends in it. Your world was one of the remaining few that he hasn't touched. Unfortunately I'm running out of time and energy."

"Wha- So are you saying that he's going to destroy my world now?!" What about my family and friends?

"No. You died just now. He has no reason to destroy this world. Well technically he could have just destroyed us during the time period that we existed but he prefers total world annihilation because he gets a kick of destroying us and those that we care about."

"He sounds mental…" I breathed, eyes wide like a deer caught in a headlight. "No. He's broken and he wants everyone to be broken just like him." Eltri supplied evenly.

"Anyway," she mutters to get us back on track, "if a soul is good they go to where good souls go to-"

"Heaven right? Good souls go to heaven right?"

Eltri puckered her face as if she had eaten something sour. "I… actually don't know. I know that heaven does exist but I'm not quite sure if that's actually where good souls go to. I may deal with souls but the topic of heaven is actually out of my jurisdiction. You either have to ask a Celestial resident or one who's in charge of handling pure and or good souls."

"Does hell exist then?"

"Oh yes. Yes it does."

"You've been there?"

"Unfortunately." When she doesn't seem to want to elaborate further, I let her continue on with her explanations. "Where was I, oh yes. Good souls to where good souls go to, and bad souls go to hell. Souls that are equal gray, darker gray, light gray or any shade of gray actually- are sent for reincarnation. And you are one of those gray souls."

"Reincarnation?"

"Yup." She pops the 'p' and placed her hands to the back of the desk and leaned back. "Before you ask, I can't reincarnate since I can't die and yes, while I did say I can technically be 'dead' my soul is still bound to my body. Only souls can reincarnate and that means you're the only one I can count on."

What she said made the gears in my churn like crazy. "If you need the help of my soul, does that mean that you're going to a world that doesn't have the other us?"

"Mmhm."

"But why that world? Why specifically a world where there is no us?"

Eltri nodded her head, looking impressed at my deductions. "Because it's a place where I can recover faster. See, every world has energy. You know what they say, energy can't be destroyed. It can only be transformed right? Well in places where there is no magic, I recover much slower. But if there is an abundance of it then I could recover my strength easily."

Eltri snaps her fingers and the same window from before popped again.

New Game? Yes/No

"So what's it going to be?"

I'm being offered another chance. Me. The lazy spoilt bum. Out of all the other dead teens, kids, people, I got a second chance.

"What about my family and friends?"

Eltri gives me a rue smile. "Despite thinking that world revolves around yourself, I'm afraid it doesn't. Time continues to flow and they'll have to manage a world with you from now on." Her tone is soft but somber at the same time. I don't mention anything at the fact that she didn't use the term 'moving on.' Was it bad that selfish part of me was glad?

"… Is this world more dangerous than yours and mine?"

"Similar to mine. So basically yes, considering the life that you've lived so far..." She trails off but I don't get the sense that she's mocking me or anything.

I don't really know whether it was on impulse or an old habit of mine but without much thinking, I said yes and then I felt the sensation of falling before everything fades to black again.