He just stared at me.

Time passed.

I sighed.

"We're here to talk right? " I said.

He blew out some smoke from his long pipe.

I've been in this dudes office for about 10 minutes and he still hasn't spoke.

I'm starting to get fidgety.

"Yes. " he said.

"Goodness! I thought you had become a mute while I was gone! " I shouted.

"So, you're a ghost, am I correct? " he said.

"Pretty much. More like a zombie now, though. " I said.

I'm bored.

I want out of here. I want a bowl of ramen. I want world domination.

But I can never get any of these things.

I crossed my legs and sighed heavily.

"You seem like quite the intresting person, Ketei. Or at least naruto says so. "

"I get that alot. But I think the only reason people find me intresting is because they wanna figure out if I'm joking or not. " I said.

"Are you joking? " he said.

"I'm dead serious in everything I say. " I said.

"Hmm. What I want to know is do you know who you are? " he said.

I jerked upright.

Does the old geezer know something?

"What do you know about me? " I demanded.

"I don't think it's my place to tell you. " he said, taking a long draw from his pipe.

Hmp. So, he doesn't wanna talk?

I see how it is.

The dude doesn't trust me.

"Tell me, Ketei. What do you think of Naruto?"

I laughed.

This is only the easiest question ever!

"He's annoying, talks too much, too ignorant sometimes for his own good, but even with all that, he's a nice guy. " I said.

"Sounds just like you, doesn't it?"

I felt my breath stop in my throat.

It does sound a little like me...

This dudes good.

"Maybe." I said.

He's not getting anything out of me!

"I have reasons to trust you Ketei. If I didn't, you would've never made it to the hospital. " he said.

Wait, he would've just let me die!

More importantly, can I die?

"So I can stay? Yes or no, already! " I shouted.

"I will let you stay in the village and participate in the chunin exams on one condition. You will tell me if any threats enter this village. Anything suspicious, okay?" he said.

Well, I guess that's easy enough.

I shook his hand.

"You got yourself a deal. " I said.

I'm gonna get him to spill the beans somehow.

-21 minutes later -

"Hello, pms lady! "

"Good morning, I saw you cheat on your wife several times! "

"Merry morning, you are all idiots! " I shouted.

"Ketei, please be quiet..." naruto said.

"Now that I can finally be seen, I can tell all these people what I think of them!" I said.

Naruto facepalmed.

"But, Ketei, you do know -"

"Ooh, stupid! Let's go in here! " I shouted and dragged him into one of the many shops.

It was a book store.

"Hey, stupid-kun let's look around!" I said and started pulling books off the shelves.

"Umm, if you don't mind Ketei, I'm just gonna go see sakura and the others. " he said.

I smirked.

"Go have fun with Ms.Pinky. I expect you to have a broken nose next time I see you though. " I said and he walked away.

Now, why did I want to come in here anyways?

Oh, now I remember!

I was trying to get naruto to leave me alone so I could be a little nosey without my conscience getting in the way.

I looked at one of the books I had dropped on the ground and picked it up.

The cover read, The Princess Of Ruin.

My body froze when I saw the name of the author.

Yoari.

Yoari Mikata.

I quickly opened the book and read the chapters in my head.

It'll be faster than reading the whole thing anyways.

My Friend, My Childhood, My Happiness, My Imprisonment, My Savior, My Hurt, My Abandonment, My Survival, My Insanity, My Betrayal, My Rescue, My Guilt, My Journey, Her Death.

Her death?

Wait, is she talking about me?

Is this like some autobiography or something?

Why would it end with "her death"?

I flipped through the book, all the way to the end and read :

Everything is my fault. If only I had been stronger, if only I had been wiser, I could've saved her. But now, all I can do is live in guilt. If only she hadn't have met him, she could've lived. If only she hadn't been my friend, she could've survived.
This is the end of the story, because this is the end of her life. Because I will never be able to forget about how I turned a blind eye.
Goodbye.

I dropped the book in my hands.

My friend was hurting because of me? She lives in guilt and sadness because of me?

I grabbed my head.

No, No, No. Maybe this has nothing to do with me. The author's name could just be conceidence. I'm just jumping to conclusions, right?

I don't even believe myself.

Yoari, where are you now? Where is your brother Hidikan?

Are you guys okay?

Are you eating properly?

Ha, I never thought I'd worry about anyone like this.

But, I'm scared.

I just want to know your okay. I want to show you I'm still here so you don't have to live in guilt.

My friend, you've done nothing wrong.

You're completely innocent.

I picked up the book and put it back on the shelf.

I'm too scared to read it.

Then I walked up to the front of the shop, to where the the owner stood.

"Do you know anything about an author named Yoari Mikata? "

The bookkeeper's face went pale.

"Yes, do you want to buy something by her? " he asked.

"No. I want to know about her. " I said.

He started to tap his fingers on the table in front of him neverously.

"She's a great writer. Starting writing years ago. Mostly fiction and a couple of poetry collections. She wrote one biography about herself but it sold so poorly, that hardly anyone brought it. She went... umm...missing... five years ago. " he said.

"Missing! " I shouted and slammed my hand on the table.

"Has anyone gone looking for her! "

"Umm, I don't know. She wasn't a very popular writer or person. Nobody really cared about her. She was probably kidnapped by some thugs looking for pocket change and outed. Nobody is going to go searching for a normal person that was probably killed years ago. " he said.

I growled deeply and grabbed him by his shirt collar.

"Sir, I do not know who you are but, if you say Yoari Mikata is unimportant one more time, I will rip you open for all the public to see. Now, listen closely. I'm going to find Yoari Mikata and she will write another story. And it will be so popular that this entire village will be lined up in the hundreds at the front of this store, itching to get a copy. Got it? " I said.

He held his hands up.

"Y-Yes, Ms. Crazy. " he said.

I let go of him and he backed away slowly, tripping over his own feet.

"Bye. " I said and ran out of the store.

I didn't mean to snap like that but...

What am I saying, I did mean it. I meant every word of it.

Goodness, Ketei. Get a grip!

She's just a girl from your memories that you used to know.

Uggh! No, she's not!

She was my best friend!

Her smile made me smile and when she laughed, I wanted to laugh too!

In those memories when I see her... I remember feeling so happy...

Yoari Mikata is probably one of the most important people in my life and yet it feels like I've never met her.

I just want to know she's okay!

Naruto could help me...

We could work together and search for her!

He'd like her, maybe she could come to live in konohna!

Wait, I'm getting my hopes up too high.

Yoari... could be dead...

She could be far away...... suffering.

Hurting...

What a sucky friend I am.