I have no idea where this came from—I was in a weird mood when I wrote it. I hope you enjoy it!
Warnings: slight boys' love
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Duh.
He was dead. He didn't know how he knew, but he did. He knew that he was dead. There was no other explanation for the weightless nothingness that seemed to surround him. He opened his eyes. Wherever he was, he wasn't in heaven. But it wasn't hell, either. Hell couldn't possibly allow him to feel such absolute calmness and serenity. He looked around. He saw white, the purest white he had ever seen, stretching away from him on all sides, even beneath his feet. Somewhat disconcerted, he wished there was a floor at the very least. In that same moment, he felt a slight, familiar pressure on his feet and saw mossy earth appear right before his eyes, racing on to the very limit of his sight. Relieved by the slight familiarity and curious about this newfound ability for creation, he began to conjure up other comforting objects: sky, clouds, flowers—until he was standing in a vast meadow surrounded by a thick, leafy forest. Everything was covered in a thin layer of frost that caught the light and cast miniature rainbows across the land. The air was refreshingly cold but satisfyingly warm at the same time. The only sound was the wind gusting through the trees and washing over the grass, but even that was muffled by the heavy silence caused by the softly falling snow. The snow fell and fell, but he made sure that it didn't stick. Snow…it had caused him so much pain, but, nonetheless, it was a part of him, and he embraced its beauty and silence—even in death.
Satisfied for the moment, he started to walk towards the forest. As the wind caught in his self-made cloak, he vaguely wondered how it might feel to fly. No sooner had the thought entered his consciousness than wings had sprouted from his back. Laughing delightedly, something he hardly ever did in life, he jumped into the air and flew over the treetops, all the while catching snow on his tongue and enjoying the wind in his face. He looked down and started to see familiar clearings and paths that he hadn't meant to create. Each little bit of this forest seemed to hold a memory from his life on earth. The memories stirred in his mind until they began to project on the landscape below. Catching a glimpse of his younger self walking down a dirt road, he landed nearby to get a better view.
There he was, a young boy who was already broken, walking alongside a tall, half-masked man—a man he knew all too well and, yet, didn't know at all. Strangely enough, he didn't cry. Why should he? This was a happy memory. Every memory with that man was a happy one, no matter how little that man seemed to care about him. That man had saved him, had given him the strength and will to live on, if only to stand by that man's side for a just a little while longer. He smiled and leaped into the air to look at another memory. He flew from memory to memory, sometimes choosing to leap from tree to tree as he had done in his days as a ninja. In many of the clearings he came upon his fondest memories of quiet dinners by the fire. They were simple memories, but that's exactly what made them special. Each time he came to one of these clearings, he would sit down and called up the memory of the cold that threatened to take hold of his back while the heat of the fire kept him feeling safe and warm. He would sigh contentedly, and, then, he would move farther into the forest of his mind.
After a long time or, perhaps, only a moment (time seemed meaningless here), he came to a bridge that wandered off into white mist. Unlike the rest of his afterlife world, this mist scared him. He was about to go around it until he saw a dark figure right where the bridge began to disappear. Now curious, but still somewhat unwilling, he stepped tentatively over to the figure. As he got closer, he realized that the figure was a man clad in a soft, white leather cloak. The man was shivering slightly and sobbing softly. He was confused; he was sure that this man was not in his memories. So, why was the man here? On closer inspection, the man seemed to be staring out into the mist, watching something—he didn't know what. He was about to reach out to the man and ask if the man was okay, but he caught a glimpse of movement in the mist. Looking over the man's shoulder, he fixed his eyes on the blurred motions. He gasped as the scene before him came into sharp focus.
A battle played out on the bridge ahead. He winced when he recognized the battle. He saw himself in the mirrors. Then, he heard a distinct high-pitched chirping and watched, stunned, as the him in the memory ran in front of his partner and caught the blow of the blazing chakra. He smiled softly. At least he could do that much for his companion. But that wasn't the end of the battle. He continued to watch in horror as the only person who had ever acknowledged him charged through a mob, blades plunging into his body. Then, he saw it. His stoic companion asked to see his face as he died. He stared. That person had wanted to see his face, had wanted to enter the afterlife by his side. For the first time since he had entered this world, tears streamed down his face. The man in the white cloak turned, noticing him for the first time. Both men's eyes widened in surprise.
"Zabuza…" Haku breathed. Zabuza stepped forward, placing a hand on Haku's cheek.
"I can't believe it. How could I possibly deserve to see you here after all I've done?" Zabuza questioned, incredulous. He caught Haku in his arms and cried harder than ever. Haku wrapped his arms around Zabuza and shared his tears. This, surely this, was heaven at last.
Down on earth, the snow fell.
Aly: Um, so, yeah…
Naruto: -cries-
Sasuke: …
Naruto: Come on, teme. Have a heart.
Sasuke: Why? That guy made me…that guy nearly killed me!
Aly: Oh, come on. You know that's not true. Besides, why don't you finish that first sentence? That guy made you what, Sasuke-kun?
Sasuke: Hn. Nothing.
Naruto: Leave him alone, Aly-chan. He's just being a bastard.
Aly: No way. He just won't admit that Haku forced him to express his true feelings for once. Isn't that right, Sasuke-kun?
Sasuke: -glare-
Aly: -sigh- Fine. I'm almost done here. Why don't you guys…
Naruto: Come on, Sasuke! Let's go get some ramen! -starts to run off-
Sasuke: Hn. Whatever, dobe -follows him-
Aly: -grins- I really don't think they're gonna make it all the way to Ichiraku's…-hears loud thump, followed by a crash- Ha! Didn't think so! -grabs camera- Please review, guys! Bye!