I sigh and run a hand through my hair. The afterlife is not what I had imagined. It is dull and dreary. Perhaps those who believed in some god or deity or other sort of spirit-creature wind up in a better place but I did not, in those years when I lived upon the Earth instead of here.
There is nothing to do here and nowhere to go. Everything is…formless, shapeless, blurry, dark greys, hints of bright white. I'd call it light but…light comes from somewhere, whether that be a star or a candle or a chandelier. Nonetheless it provides me with the ability to see, a bit. Not that there is much to see.
Occasionally I will come across another soul. The majority of them do not speak my language, but a few do. Usually they don't want to talk for a long time, but once in a while they do. Recently I met a man who also called himself a ninja, but he spoke of things I could not imagine. One of those objects was called….called….an "arquebus". Strange, yes? But he was just as confused by my descriptions of electricity-and even chakra! Fancy that.
At least I think I met him recently. It is hard to tell the time. Impossible, really. No sun rises in the morning and, thus, course it does not set at night. There are no seasons, no weather, no heat nor cold. It is always the same. If I knew that this is would the afterlife would be, perhaps…perhaps…I would have made different choices…but…perhaps not.
Gravity does not exist either. I float, aimlessly, through the void. Even for one like me, accustomed to walking up vertical surfaces with the slightest of ease it is peculiar. At first, anyway. Now it is all I know. Konoha's imperious trees and low-roofed buildings are slowly fading from my memory. It saddens me, but what can I do? It is hard for me, now, to hear my sweet wife's dulcet tones, smell the sterility of hospital wards, feel the roughness of bark against my back on…no. I will not think of that. There are some things I want to forget.
Ow. Wait…
Did I just run into a wall?
I look up. I see nothing but the usual, but…something seems off. This bears further investigation. It isn't as if I have better things to do.
What is that? It is bright. Colourful. There are many souls gathered around it. How odd. I draw closer.
It is a strange grouping. None resembles the other. In the back is….blackness. True, total darkness, not merely dark grey. To the left of him is a man with clothing like I've never seen before but seem very old nonetheless. One of his eyes is damaged but with the other he stares into the brightness.
I push closer to it. Now I can make out a picture within it. It's a woman, dressed in pastels, white haired, smiling.
Then the blackness speaks. It is a reedy voice, with no accent I can recognise.
"Kwe-ne E-ri-za-be-thh" it says. I have no idea what that means but to the man with the odd dress it makes sense. He looks faintly angry. The picture shifts, to a castle, then to what might be a flag. It is in the beginning of changing again when the oddly-dressed man shakes his head. He murmurs something but by his expression I can tell it is something along the lines of "I don't want to see anymore". Then he is gone, floating off, to the nothingness.
The next person is different. He's clad in white, what looks like a sheet draped over him. The picture shimmers and then it is an altar. With flowers.
He smiles. "Me-us me-mo-ri-a essst bo-na, " he says, and floats off too, seemingly pleased.
"Se-zar!" shouts another soul, a woman, gaping.
More souls go up and more pictures are shown in the brightness. Pictures of pyramidal structures, vine-covered manors, dour farmers. I have no idea what purpose this serves as none of the souls say anything comprehensible.
Then there is a woman. Black haired, black eyed. Her clothes look like ones that were popular around the time I was born. In the brightness there is now a house. A house like many in Konoha, short, traditional. Outside of it are people, and if I squint I'd say they look like her.
"Hikaru," she gasps. "You survived." Clasping her bosom and swaying slightly, she then mutters, "I wish I could meet those grandchildren of mine…" The blackness laughs, slightly, before saying, "Do you want me to find Ah-pen-hai-mer for you?" What that means I don't know, and neither does she, for she merely clutches her bosom and floats off just like all the rest.
It takes me a few moments to process what that was. And then it hits me. That's Earth. That was her family, after she had died.
Perhaps…perhaps I will be able to see my son. My precious, lovely, son. I can't imagine what he'll be but I know it'll be awful. Undoubtedly he came across my body. That alone would hurt a child severely…and then to be all alone? Regret fills me but…it…no, no, no, I will not dwell on that.
Then I realise I am next to the blackness. The brightness shimmers again and then
And then
I see Konoha. It looks…similar, but not. Rebuilt. What calamity could have caused such serious damage to so many buildings? Still, though, it is recognisable. As my home. And also as the place of my demise. Feelings of hatred begin to surge through me as they have not for a long time. Thoughts about things such as "marginalisation" and "disgust" and "despite everything" flit through my mind and I force them away. I don't want to think of such. I want to think of my son.
Then! There he is, in the brightness. His hair is somehow even spikier. A dirty-white mask with red paint is clutched loosely in his hand and I frown. Why would he…Ah, ah...that's an ANBU mask, albeit one a little different than when I last saw one. His armour is dirty and bloodstained. I'm so proud my heart could burst out of my chest. My son, in ANBU…this is a better future than I could ever have imagined for him. Not shoved to the sidelines, belittled for my actions, thrown away, scorned. I smile, and float off, just like the rest did.
Down in Lightning Country, one Hatake Kakashi is waiting for the explosive tags he put in the villa of the minor official he was ordered to assassinate to go off. Suddenly bright light floods his vision and a loud noise fills the air. Then all is silent.
At first he disliked such missions, but now he doesn't mind, really. Kakashi has already completed 78 solo assassination missions during his time in ANBU.
A scrap of paper floats past him, and he snatches it out of the air in case it's important. It's a page from a textbook. On one side there is a map of the Elemental Countries; on the other, names of famous Konohans. Not important.
If he'd bothered to look closer he would have noticed one of those names of famous Konohans was Sakumo.
A/N: well, look, I'm alive! I know, I know, it's not AnkoSensei or Twirl or Drowning from Within; it's not even Brutus Dicit Non or Is Lex Est Bardus. But it's something. And that is all.