A/N: Someone bet me I couldn't write an "Angst/Supernatural" story. R&R and let me know if you think I pulled it off. I'm not sure whether this should be called, "Angst/Supernatural" or "Angst/Spiritual." Let me know what you think it should be categorized, even if you think it's a category other than the ones I named.

As long as you ended this fic in a different mood than when you started, I know I managed to pull this off.

This fic is kind of open-ended. Use whoever you want as "I."

And the friend's identity should be obvious.

Note: "Hitai-ate" is the Japanese term for the headbands shinobi wear depicting their village's symbol.
Note 2: I will constantly make edits and add things to this story. But only expect this single chapter.

I hope this small story gets to you. You don't even have to feel big emotions. You just have to have that feeling. That feeling where everything just seems to fall into place. That feeling that makes you think. That strange, indescribable feeling.

A feeling of peace.

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As ninja, we fight.

We stab, we slash, we…

We kill.

We kill and are killed.

That's just how it is.

I have seen my comrades fall at the hands of our enemies.

I have seen innocent people get caught in our squabbles.

I have seen my friends die to protect those they cared about…

And to protect me.

They die.

That's just how it is.

Some fight until the end.

Some give up easily, letting the pain slip away…

Along with their life.

Some don't mind.

Some wish they could have stayed longer.

That's just how it is.

Now I find myself here, in the midst of battle. Or is it over? I can't tell. Did we win, did we lose?

Was I worth something in the end?

That's all I wonder.

Soon enough I found myself far enough away…I could see the entire world. It was pretty, blue, full of life.

Huh. So full of life.

Yet full of death, too.

Like mine.

I was pretty sure that was what was happening. I was dying. No, I was dead. I see the black all around. I don't want to go into the non-existence. But…I know there's something there. I had no choice but to continue on into endless darkness.

I see two lights. Where do I go? I looked around, looking for some sort of an answer. A clue. Anything.

I see one of my long-gone friends. I feel relieved as he walks over to me.

I am also long-gone.

I suppose.

"Hey." He greeted, his bright blue eyes still the same as I remembered them. His blond hair was still as messy as ever. I smiled.

"Hey." I said back.

He was dressed in white, loose fitting pants and shirt. I found myself in similar attire. No longer did we wear the hitai-ates of our village.

The ties had been severed. Villages were things of Life. We were in Death.

Both barefoot, we felt nothing.

There was nothing.

"Do you know where you are?"

"I know enough."

Silence for a few moments.

"I hoped I wouldn't have to see you here for a long time." He said softly. The saddest of his smiles was aimed…at me. It was easy to understand why.

"Me too…But…I'm glad you're here, though. Otherwise, I'd be lost."

We both knew we'd be more than lost. We'd be alone. The darkness that consumed everything surrounded us, we didn't want to be alone in such a place.

"You always do manage to get lost, don't you?"

We laughed a little.

"Is anyone else coming?"

"…No."

"Where do I go?"

"Depends."

"Where did you go?"

"Never left."

I locked my eyes with his. Or tried to, at least. He was looking down at his feet. Maybe his gaze was on the nothingness we were in.

"Are you scared?"

"Are you?"

More silence. It really did put you in a sober mood, realizing you were dead. I looked around at the two lights.

"Why didn't you choose?"

"I didn't know what to choose."

I wanted to cry for him.

In the dark, there was no one here to guide you. There was no one here to stop you, either. You were free to choose. The catch was, you never knew where you would end up.

That's just how it is.

"I've been waiting for a friend."

"I'd like to go with a friend, too."

"I didn't want to leave my friends behind." He smiled at me. "Want to try?" he said, holding out his hand.

"If you're sure no one else is coming…"

"You were the last. Everyone else who came with you went by themselves. A few went together, though." He smiled at the thought. "I stayed so that you wouldn't go alone."

"How did you know I was coming?"

"Someone said."

"Who?"

"I don't really know." He said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Yep, still the same guy I remembered.

"Which way?"

"Every way."

"It's so confusing. What lies ahead, and what lies behind? Is it just some kind of cruel test?"

"I wouldn't know." He said, a solemn grin on his face. Only he could pull that off. I smiled.

"Hopefully, everyone else made it there, too."

"I hope."

Some more silence. The place seemed to be full of it.

"Tell me, did anyone remember me once I left?"

"No one ever forgot you in the first place. What made you think they would?"

He sighed before replying.

"I've had way too much time to think."

"Maybe we should get going then." I took his hand. Together, we couldn't get lost or separated.

It helped to know I wasn't facing this alone.

Alone. It was the word that scared every living- or once living- being. No one wanted to be alone. Especially when you are lost, have lost your way in a place like Death. Maybe even Life.

We walked along, trying to find the right way.

That's just how it is.

"Do you see anything?"

"I always see two lights. One over there, and one over there." He pointed in two directions.

"I only see one of the two you see. My other light is over there." I pointed.

"Let's follow the one we can both see." He led me towards the light. It felt warm. It wasn't blinding. It wasn't harsh. It was a gentle, soft light, bringing us into a strange sense of repose.

Soon enough we found the light right in front of us. It was a large, bluish-white disk of soft light. It kindly shone its calming light on us.

"Are you ready?"

I was scared. He was too.

Could you blame us?

"Can we wait a bit longer?" I whispered. I wanted to cry.

But I couldn't.

What a strange place. A scary, strange place.

"Okay."

He spoke first after a few minutes of standing there.

Minutes? Hours? Days? Years?

Maybe even centuries or millennia.

Maybe an eternity.

There was no way to know in this strange place called Death.

I guess that's just how it is.

"I wonder why it has to be like this." He muttered softly.

A lot of time in Death had changed him. Only my short time here had done the same.

"I guess...never mind. I'm ready."

A lie. No one was ever truly ready.

We squeezed each other's hand in both fear and hope. As we stepped through the light, he asked me,

"What were you going to say? When I asked why it had to be like this?"

I didn't dare let go of his hand.

"I guess…That's just how it is."

I did eventually have to leave Death, but at least I found a friend to come with me. Someone to brave the depths of the unknown with me.

No matter what I got myself into, I wouldn't be alone.

Maybe you were supposed to go with a friend.

We'll go together.

Maybe that's just how it is.

How it is, and always will be.