Hello there dear FF readers! It is me again, SakuNya! And, I have a new story for my readers. It is Sasuke-centric, so not really any other characters will pop up in the story. I hope you all enjoy this new story and leave me tons of reviews!

Summary: Death has taken hold of Sasuke and he finally goes to rest in peace in what he assumes is eternal darkness. However, the trip to the afterlife is not as some people say it is. The real journey begins in the afterlife.

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

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In death is a new life

Prologue

"I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But as much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking."

-Carl Sagan

Black.

Darkness.

Loneliness.

Nothingness.

All these things remind people of what awaits them at death's doors. The void. An eternal blankness, a wandering through nothing. Nothing.

What a word 'nothing' is. Because the definition of 'nothing' is exactly that; nothing. However, the moment we think of nothing, it becomes something; a thought, an idea, SOMETHING. So, if death is nothing, then it must potentially be something. There must be something other than nothing when our lives end in this world.

So, when Sasuke was faced with death, he really didn't know what to expect. At first, it was exactly how he thought it would be. Floating within a void.

So this is death, huh? He thought as he floated through the darkness surrounding him. I have to admit, it is… peaceful.

He didn't know if he closed his eyes or not, he couldn't tell because he couldn't see the difference in dimness, he couldn't feel if he did close them. All he knew was that he was at peace. No sound entered his ears, if he even had any. He couldn't feel his limbs, if he had any. No, he couldn't feel a lot of things. All he had were his thoughts to tell him he was in some form still there. Wherever 'there' was.

For a fleeting moment, he thought he had felt the lightest of touches to his cheeks, again if he had any. But when he tried to concentrate on that light brush, he couldn't feel it. So, he did his best to relax and forget everything he had done in his past life. Perhaps he would be rewarded by forgetting it completely and start a new life. Being a new person, an animal, some form of life, somewhere in some world.

There it was again; that light touch to his cheeks. He opened his eyes (or at least that's what he thinks he did) and looked around in front of him. Nothing.

No, there was something. There in the distance in front of him, if distance even existed. It looked like a very faint faraway light. Light at the end of the tunnel? He thought sarcastically. Maybe he was being reborn. Perhaps his new mother is giving birth to him and the light is the opening of her birth canal.

But that didn't make sense to him. He wouldn't have remembered such a thing from being a baby or even have coherent thoughts. So, it couldn't be that could it? Or perhaps that's what is was, but was granted his memories of his past life one last time before he reached that light, in his new mother's embrace, and, perhaps, only then would he forget who he was and remember a coherent thought in only years to come.

However, if this was a birth canal, however stupid that sounded, shouldn't he feel pressure, moistness, something pushing him to the light? And if so, the light should be coming closer, clearer. But it stayed there, suspended far away above him.

Sasuke did the only thing he thought would bring him closer to that light; he wiled his limbs to move.

Damnit! He cursed mentally, glad that he still had emotions. He tried to move his left arm, wherever it was, he couldn't feel it, he couldn't see it. He just couldn't make it budge.

Leaving his arm alone for now, he tried to see. If there was light streaming through, then he should be able to see even if only a little. He concentrated on keeping his eyes locked on to that tiny little dot above him. And he realized his head shifted as he did this! So, shifting his head little by little to his left, he could faintly see the outline of his arm.

He thought about moving. Move your index finger, move your index finger, move your index finger… he thought, reciting the phrase like a mantra, concentrating on the outline of his digit.

Twitch.

His index twitched. And it was like a switch making a whole system hum to life. His whole body gave a jolt and he moved his limbs freely. But at the same time, he felt like he was sinking. As he moved around, he realized that the touches to his cheeks he had felt before was his hair, waving lightly around his head, as if it were underwater. The moment he thought that, a few small bubbles floated up towards the dim light.

And he realized he wasn't breathing, and that realization made him feel excruciating pain in his lungs and in his throat, as well as the intense and urgent need for oxygen.

His limbs propelled him towards the light, despite his sore muscles, the adrenalin in his body made him keep moving forward. He didn't stop. He just swam for dear life (no pun intended) to the light that was growing stronger and brighter above him.

His pace was slow, his arms and legs could've screamed in agony. He almost felt like just dying all over again in the dark depths of the water he was in. He told himself there was no way he would reach the surface before the need for air overtook him.

No! He had to believe that he could, he had to swim up to the light, no matter how much energy it took from him, no matter how sore his muscles were, he simply had to get out! He forced his legs to kick harder, his arms to flail faster, ordered his lungs to keep working until the refreshing oxygen would enter them.

He was so close, there were mere meters in front of him, he could feel the gentle caress of sunlight on his skin, the warmth that it brought with it. The knowledge that he was going to get out of the nothingness around him was enough to push him to his very last limit.

He could reach it! He could almost grasp it and…

Sasuke's head burst from the water, and he breathed for the first time in the afterlife.

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To be continued…

I hope this story will be liked by many, because I already hold it dear in my heart.

Reviews please!