3 Life and Times

Reo Suzuki found himself sitting in a comfy chair, in a homey room, staring into a blazing fireplace. Silently watching the flame dance unable to escape the pit that contained it. "Hello Reo, I would introduce myself but I have long forgotten my name." An old man that was sitting across from Reo said in a kind soft voice only just louder than the crackle of the flame. "I am sure you have questions and expect answers." He continued, Reo finally managing to look at him after hours of sitting silently no longer able to produce any tears. As he finally took notice of the older man he saw that he had his feet up in his lazy chair with a quilt around his legs and two books sitting in his lap. "Ah curious about what I'm reading young one." The old man stated as he lifted the black book with a golden title running across the front of the book. "No need to read it yourself, from the title I'm sure you will understand why."

Reo looked at the title with little care until he finished and comprehended what it meant. The Life and Times of Reo Suzuki was written in gold lettering across the black cover. "Yes, it's about you if that's what you are thinking, it contains every moment and thought you have ever had. Even some of the dreams that are a little bit hmm, how should I say this, naughty. You have quite the imagination about that class president and your sisters." The old man said through his grin. "Who are you" Reo asked a redundant question considering he was sure he knew the answer. The old man flipped open the last page of Reo's book an answered "Yes a redundant question indeed Reo, I go by many names none of them my original but most of them are religious some aren't but I guess it all boils down to me as The Creator." The old man nonchalantly finished the answer as he flipped through some pages of the book he was holding in his hand. "When I was young looking about as old as you at the ripe age of sixteen, I was perhaps a little to enthusiastic at my current job. Always interfering in the lives of the worlds I created and look after, rarely did my meddling ever give me the compensation I was truly hoping for. As I grew up I soon learned that I was intervening too heavily in the worlds I watch over, I only need to make a push here or a shove there. In some rare cases save a life or end it." The old man finished as he seemed to have found the page in the Life and Times of Reo Suzuki that he was looking for.

"Why couldn't you take the life of the masked man that destroyed my family?" Reo nearly shouted, the old man looked softly at Reo and answered "because I needed you exactly where you are sitting right now. Your sisters were quite fond of that series Naruto it seems according to your book. They even had one of their biggest arguments about the cutest and sexiest ninja in the show." The old man thoughtfully stated with a small smile hanging from the edge of his mouth. "Yume thought it was Sai, Yuma thought it was Sasuke, they always had a thing for men with problems. The argument ended when Yume accused Yuma of being such a Saruka and Yuma saying her sister was being such an Ino. " Reo stared at the old man trying to follow his line of thought that seemed to jump from the serious to the playful every other line out of his mouth. "You see I have a problem" the old man started saying as he dropped Reos book and as it touched the floor it started to sink into the wood panels on the ground tell it was completely submerged. "Ah, another book for the ever growing library." The old man stated sadly.

"The problem is that in one of the worlds, a child, an important child has giving up living. He ended his life much like a dolphin on your home world of earth." Reo raised an eyebrow at the statement trying to puzzle it together. "Do you know much about dolphins?" the old man asked Reo. Reo slowly shook his head "No, only that they are hunted down and slowly become extinct." The old man looked into the eyes of Reo, "Yes that is true, but not quite what I was getting at. You see a dolphin can end its own life, and many in captivity do. They sink into the water and open their blow hole and let the water swarm into the lungs. They drown themselves when they believe that life is no longer worth living." The old man seemed to stare past Reo and fall into thought. "You see Reo even if that dolphin was important to the world you were living if I was to bring it back from the dead it would just choose to leave the world again, creating an equation without a solution." The old man picked up the last book that was still laying on his lap. "This is a story, it doesn't really have that much happiness in it, similar to the dolphin this child no longer has the will to live, even if I tell him he needs to be alive for the good of his world. No matter how many conversations I have tried to convince him, his only wish is to rejoin his family and clan in the great beyond."

Reo desperately worrying about his family was slowly losing his patience, "What will happen to my mother, to my sisters?" Reo asked the old man. "Ah, many people who are passing over from the realm of the living constantly worry about their loved ones even though they have no impact on affecting their life either in the positive or negative way." The old man started opening the last book as he continued "your mother will morn you harshly, your sisters will pray every day for you to find peace and happiness. They wish they could get a chance to say thank you. Your sisters will both get married and your mother will walk them down the aisle in lieu of your father. Yume and Yuna will both have children and their first born will be named in homage of you and your sacrifice. Yearly they will visit your grave and tell their favorite stories of you to their husbands, sons and daughters. Your mothers' days will become happier when she can hold her grandchildren." Reo slowly relaxed knowing that his sacrifice wasn't in vain that his family will be able to find happiness.

"Now this is the story of the boy who could have been a dolphin." Stated the old man as he smiled at that thought. Reo read the title of the other black book with a golden title. The Life and Times of Sasuke Uchiha were printed in gold letters that ran across the front of the book. "This child has many paths I for saw him taking, most of them lead down a dark road. A few of the pathways were down a well-lit corridor but they all ended up in the same place." The old man threw the open book straight at Reo and as the book touched his body it started to sink into his skin. Reo was reliving everything Sauske experienced in his few short years. "This poor child" Reo exclaimed. "I can't see a worse way to experience the end of a life." The old man nodded, "yes, he was always a child of misfortune on one side of a coin where his other side was equally unfortunate. The two sides of the coin handled their lives like a half cup of water. One believed it was half full and the other thought it was half empty."

"Back to the problem at hand, and the favor I'm going to ask of you. The world where Sasuke lived is in desperate need of someone to take his place. I know you are wondering 'why me' it is because I believe you will take the paths that will lead you to the place you need to be at the end." Reo was still comprehending the idea of taking over the childs body, in a world he thought was make believe, while still trying to pay attention to all the information the old man was still saying. "I don't believe you will be able to survive in the world for a long time without a little help from myself. So if you choose to enter and hopefully save their world you will be granted help. No matter the answer your family's future will remain the same." Reo gave a grateful nod at that sentiment, "Old man, this world I only know the little I remember my sisters telling me, are their many people worth saving?" The old man nodded "The good and the bad coexist like every place that ever existed, there must be darkness for the light to shine, I promise you that a multitude of personalities and morals exist inside of that world." Reo bobbed his head in understanding, but asked something that was worrying him. "Will I still be able to remember my family, my mother's face, my sisters' smile?" The old man explained "even a god can forget his own name when enough time has passed. You will retain your memories but for how long is up to you."