Afterlife

Summary: Heaven is always interpreted as the place in the sky where angels are flying. At least, that's what I expected it to be. Somehow, someway, it's a lot different. Maybe even... better than what I wanted after death. (Spoilers for recent chapters)

(Itachi POV)

Author's Notes: Okay, I know I've been neglecting fanfiction forever. Don't get on my case about it. Nothing has been coming to me until I read... that fateful chapter. If you don't know what I'm talking about, please do not read this. I won't be responsible for ruining the series for you. Kay, thanks.

Chapter 1: Leaving this Earth

I had done it. I gave Sasuke his final wish and went down without too much of a fight. It took everything out of me to not kill him by accident. In the end, I pulled through and just gave in. For some reason, it felt good. All my troubles were gone. I had no mission to follow, nothing to control my any longer.

My mother always told me that once you died, it was over. Just eternal darkness until you saw that light to heaven (if you made it there). This part took me by surprise. As soon as I felt something within me just stop and my muscles go limp, I closed my eyes and prepared for my final fall. But I never hit the ground. Instead, I was looking down at myself hit the ground. Sasuke stared down in disbelief before tears formed in his eyes. Something within him stirred when he saw his past idol lying still before him. I blinked back a tear at the look on his face. It was a stupid time to get sentimental, but no one could see me anymore and I was released from the stress on Earth. At least I thought so. Now I felt a pulling in the back of my head, as if a vacuum was sucking me up. Before I completely left the earth, I put my hand on my brother's shoulder in a silent farewell before being shot upward toward the clouds.

All around me was clear air. The rain phased through me easily. Below me, the world was getting smaller and smaller. Trees began to look like shrubs, people began to look like insects. I caught a final glimpse of Zetsu morphing out of the rock and Kisame seeming a bit surprised by Zetsu's information that I wouldn't be going back. Thank Kami. Akatsuki was a challenging experience, but I had no desire to continue it. There was a final glance at the earth before the clouds obscured my vision. They were forming all around me and seemed like I was in heaven. I was already thinking about what it would be like to have wings. Would I need to cut holes in my clothes?

But I kept going higher. The clouds thinned out a little bit before a huge flash of bright light made me squint. When it subsided, there was ground underneath me. It was also pure white. The buildings around me were gold and white. Walkways were silver. The plants had gold leaves on them. Everything was so happy and peaceful that I was surprised I made it to heaven. With everything I had done in my life...

To my surprise, it was completely quiet. Not a word or sound echoed through the wind. The building in front of me had my last name on it. There seemed to be life coming from inside, but I was almost nervous to open the front door. If my family was in there, I don't think I'd be staying here long.

Instead of going inside, I was lightly tapped on the shoulder by a familiar face. When I turned around and saw him, I almost died all over again. Shisui was fully alive standing before me, somewhat of a smile on his face.

"About time." Was all he said.

Just those words made me feel bad. If only they knew why I had done it... not that it was an excuse to kill your entire family.

"Kind of an odd place to meet," He admitted, "But I'm your mentor."

"Mentor?" My voice sounded the same as it always has.

"That's right. Heaven isn't an easy place to learn, buddy."

As soon as he said it, people seemed to materialize around us. Some of them looked familiar as ninjas from Konoha. They did a double take before smiling and waving at me. Apparently everyone in heaven was polite and friendly. I could get used to this. Shisui walked ahead of me, leading me down a nearby silver path.

"Are you ready?"

I could only nod as the scenery still began to appear before me. Maybe heaven was better than I imagined.