This is my fanfiction of a fanfiction, written for the contest mentioned in the author's note in chapter 57 of Desert.Moon's The Obsession, a very awesome fic. Now, while I doubt this will win me anything, (I don't expect it to) I had a lot of fun writing this. And I know this isn't very clear, but at the beginning, my OC is attempting to write a song about what happened to Eiri, based on what she's heard from... well, I can't say too much; that would give stuff away. And although this is centered more around said OC, this story is my take on what may have happened to Eiri when he moved on. -sniffle- -tear- Rest in peace, oh annoying one. Oh! And before I forget, I have translations that I got off a Japanese website. (So I know they're right!)

Aki - Autumn

Akikaze - Autumn Breeze

Sabaku - Desert

Suna- Sand

The Song of The Fallen

The boy was gone

She'd watched him die

She seen the light leave his eyes

She'd seen the the warrior of darkness

Run him through

And as he lay dying

The shadow girl knew

She would ha-

"Aki?"

The ten year-old tried to hide her notebook, but it was too late; her father had seen. He walked towards her, a stern expression on his face.

"Give me that."

Aki shook her head rapidly, her long red hair stinging her face when it hit it.

"No, Daddy."

The girl's father sighed. "What have I told you about this, Aki?"

"That it's Mom's fault for telling me stories," she responded without thinking. Realizing what she had said, the child clapped a hand over her mouth.

"...Yes, I suppose I did say that. But I was talking about the day I told you-"

"No more of this dark stuff?" she asked, recalling the conversation from two weeks ago.

"Exactly!"

Now it was Aki's turn to sigh. "But Daddy, I can't help it. I'm dark. I always have been. You know that. ...And so does everyone else," she added quietly.

The man sat down beside his daughter. "What do you mean, Aki?"

She looked at the ground as she spoke. "Daddy, people think I'm... weird. I know I am, so it doesn't bother me at all that they say that, but..."

"But what?"

"It's the whispering that gets to me. They whisper about me behind my back, Daddy. I know they do. And it's not just the other kids. It's their parents, too. I don't think anybody likes me."

Pain and sorrow filled the red-headed man's heart as he listened to his only child's troubles. That's... exactly how I felt. I should have known... I should have known that any child of mine would be looked at like a... a freak, unfit to be accepted into society. I-

"Daddy? Are you still listening?"

"Huh?"

Aki rolled her eyes. "Didn't think so." She got up and walked toward the doorway, pausing when she reached it. "I'm going to go outside for a little while. Get some fresh air." She didn't wait for an ok; she simply sauntered on out.

Gaara sighed again. "Be careful, Aki..."

The wind stung Aki's face as she stood, looking around. "Let's see," she mumbled. "Which way was it?... Oh, right. I remember now." She started to run in the direction of her destination, but stopped whe she heard a soft plop!

"Huh?" The child turned around and saw a badly worn blue notebook half-buried in the sand. Smiling, she picked it up and held it to her chest as she took off again. About ten minutes later, she found herself in front of a giant stone with multiple names engraved on it. By the light of the setting sun, Aki searched the rock for one that looked familiar.

"E... E... E... Ha! There it is." She ran the back of her hand across the four weathered letters. "Eiri..." she whispered. As she spoke the name, she couldn't help but wonder what he was like, her mother's deceased teammate.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?" a voice asked, sounding extremely annoyed. Aki spun around, searching for the speaker.

"Who's there?" she demanded. She readied her chakra in case she needed to fade away into the shadows. This technique might just save my life like it has my mom's...

"Who do you thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiink?"

The voice was closer this time. Weird... I was listening for footsteps. Why couldn't I hear any?!

"You called my naaaaaaaaaaaaame, diiiiiiiiidn't yoooooouuuuuu, little giiiiiiiiiiirl?"

Aki blinked. "E-e-eir-ri?" she stammered.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? That's twiiiiiiiiiiiice noooooooooow!"

As the child looked on in disbelief, Eiri appeared in front of her, standing with his arms crossed and a glare fixed on his face.

"Weeeeellllllll?" the weaponmaster asked irritably. "What do you waaaaaaaaaant? Dead shinobi don't come back to see people every day, you knoooooooooooow."

Aki took a shaky step toward Eiri and held out a trembling hand. "H-h-hi, E-eiri," she said shyly.

Raising an eyebrow, Eiri looked at her hand. "Aaaaaaaaand whaaaaaaaat am I supposed to do with thaaaaaaaaat?"

She was taken aback. "Shake it, of course!"

The ghost of the genin rolled his eyes. "I'm a ghoooooost, Aaaaaakiiiiiii. I can't shake your haaaaaaand."

"H-hey, how did you know my name?" the ten year-old demanded.

"Ooooooohhhhhh, I've known your name for a looooooooong tiiiiiime. I was in the hospital room when you were booooooorn. Nooooooobody knew iiiiiiit, but I was theeeeere."

Aki's eye was twitching. "Alright, A) That's just creepy, and B) I thought you said ghosts don't just show up every day."

Eiri smirked. "Yeeeeeaaaah. Ghosts don't come baaaaaack every daaaaaaaay. But Iiiiiiiii doooo. I'm your guardian aaaaaaangel," he explained, looking smug.

"...Okay, now I'm really confused. How are you-"

"I went to Heaven, Aaaaakiiii. Aaand I was given a job. Thaaaaaat job was to beeeee some little kiiiiiid's guardian angel. And that liiiiittle kid just happened to be yooouuu."

Aki was silent for a few moments, contemplating what the deceased weaponmaster had told her.

"Sooooooo... you just pop in at random moments to see if I'm okay?"

Eiri shrugged. "Preeeettty muuuuuch."

Another moment of silence was taken, broken only by the sound of the wind across the barren landscape. Then, Aki looked at Eiri with a smile on her face. "...Waaaaanna come to my house for a whiiiiile?"

"...and look out for thaaaat spooooot, the saaaand's deep there," Eiri said, pointing out the potential danger.

Aki was ready to snap. "Listen, Eiri," she attempted to say calmly. "I know you're just doing your job and looking out for me, but... YOU'RE GETTING ON MY NERVES!!"

The spectral being shrugged and became silent as lights appeared on the horizon. A smile lit Aki's face as she saw them. "Look, we're almost there! I can see the house!" Excited, she started to run toward her home. However, there was... a problem. That spot where the sand was deep? Aki stepped in it. Screaming, she sank down into the sand, as though the desert were swallowing her whole.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!"

Takara jumped to her feet. "Gaara! Did you hear that?!" He nodded. "...That... that sounded like Aki!"

Feeling their stomachs give a sickening lurch, the two Suna shinobi rushed out of their home to search for their daughter.

"Aki?" Takara called desperately. "Aki!" She recieved no reply but the cold wind of the desert night. "Sabaku no Akikaze, where are you?!"

"...Mom! Daddy!" a faint voice called. Gaara sprinted toward the sound, Takara right behind him. When Aki came into view, she was being pulled out of the sand by a mysterious figure, who dissapeared immediately after rescuing her.

Panicked and worried that something else might happen, Gaara scooped Aki up into his arms and quickly backed away from the soft spot in the sand. "Aki, what happened? Are you okay?" he asked a bit frantically. She nodded, looking in the direction her rescuer had dissapeared.

Takara, extremely curious, couldn't help but ask, "Aki, who was that?"

The red-headed girl smiled and shrugged. "Nooooooobody. Juuuuust my guardian weaponmaaaaaaster."

Well, there it is! Short? Yes. Pointless? A bit. Enjoyable? Hopefully. If anyone would like to review, have at it. If not... well, I'm used to it. Anyhow, hope you liked it. And now, I have to go do schoolwork, like a good homeschooled teenager. Later!