In the "Afterlife"
Chapter Rating: T for swearing and violence.
Chapter Warnings: Character death. But only briefly. Some violence.
Chapter Summary: On the brink of death, Sasuke chooses his hate over his friends and the two ninja die. However, their minds awaken in a different realm where they are briefed with a mission sent from…
And Finally, We Died Together
They say that if two elite ninja exchange blows, then they can read what is inside each other's hearts. Sasuke, can you read what my heart is telling you?
I rush forward, shadow clones leading the way. They poof out of existence in a mere second, leaving the true, corporeal body to be bared. Once again, my fist of iridescent orange chakra slams into a bolt of lightning chakra.
I see it. I see him, smiling at a sign that reads 'The Great Naruto Bridge'. I see him hesitate when the man in the orange mask states that their new target is Konoha. But the most important thing that I could ever read in his heart is the feeling he got in the Valley of the End, and the very same feeling echoed in the new team 7's infiltration of Orochimaru's hideout. The one burst of emotion mixed into the spiraling hate, fear, determination, and pain.
And I know by the way we are moving slower, breathing harder and making clumsy mistakes that we are almost finished. The muscles in my right leg are nearly decimated and half the fingers on my right hand are mangled in a way that is too gruesome to look at. Those are just the ones I can feel. On the other side of things, I shattered Sasuke's right arm and singed off half of his hair with my chakra.
We pause, circling each other again like wild animals in battle over territory. That is exactly what we are. Feral. Our breaths create a rhythm of in, out, in, out. For the smallest slice of a second before we both lurch forward again, our eyes meet. His, cold and empty. Black and sorrowful. Not the curious and willing gaze that I held many a time in our youth. Just three years ago seems like a lifetime.
It well into the dead of night, and the spring air is starting to warm. I can tell that dawn is soon approaching, and we have been at a stalemate for hours. Neither of us have uttered more than a few words at a time, so concentrated on our truly frightening abilities as a ninja, and the way our punches convey much more than could be said.
At first, I was rather paranoid about why no one had come out of the currently destroyed hideout. Why would the masked man, Uchiha Madara, hide in this situation? I know for a fact that he wants to come after me, like the Akatsuki did with Gaara and take the Kyuubi. Well, I'm here and I'm weak and alone. Why? I know the answer. It is simply because he no longer cares about what Sasuke does. He already got the attack on Konoha that he wanted. The only thing left for the masked man to do is to obtain the tailed beasts in me and KillerBee. I have seen it a thousand times before; when a bad guy wants something and is not afraid to trample on all of his followers to get there. I was right. This whole time, he was using Sasuke to create the tensions necessary to fuel the war full scale
"What exactly," I shout from a distance, "were you planning on doing after you get revenge on the village that raised you?"
"Obviously, I'm going to rebuild my clan."
"Genereally one has to like people and be liked to have babies with them, Sasuke," I taunt, laughing slightly before. He just glares at me. The expression is almost reminiscent of times when I was showing off my ninja skills and he had to watch, jealous and indifferent. I chuckle and swipe a finger under my nose to scratch it. Air whizzes past my elbow, and Sasuke's body is ramming into my shoulder, pushing me across the land and shattering one of the last remaining vertebrae from the skeletal structure that once rested here. We both fall to our knees, choking for oxygen.
"I'm surprised you can still see after using your eyes so much," I comment, remembering the dull milky color that had filmed over his eyeballs the last time we met.
"If I could fully use the Mangekyou, I would certainly be blind right now," he gasps into my shoulder, digging his knee deeper onto my foot. The pain explodes up my damaged leg, but I focus on his statement. Sasuke tried genjutsu multiple times on me. I avoided all of the attacks, except for one. In that one attack, though, I was able to substitute the vessel of the kyuubi that lays dormant in me, thus not experiencing the attack, but watching instead. So that was the Mangekyou.
"I met him," I say, strongly. "Your brother."
"So have many," Sasuke replies coolly, poison seeping into his tone.
"Yeah," I frown, remembering the conflict he posed to me. To choose your village, or the person you care about? "He and I are alike. I am fighting you, a person I consider as a brother, right now to save Konoha. He fought his own clan to keep the peace in his beloved home as well. I told him that I would find a way to do both. It looks like a lied."
"Nothing gives you the right to talk about him like you know him. You are just another bastard of that village who stood back and left him with no other option. You should die like the swine you are," the guy practically spits in my face, eyes spinning manically.
"Okay," I sigh, standing up and brushing dust off of my jacket. "Come at me. Give it all you have left, and I will not hold back. It is finally time to end this, Sasuke."
"Hn." He stands as well. The purple belt, reminiscent of Orochimaru, lays tattered around his hips. The sword sheat and sword were long since broken and lost. Neither of us have even a single ninja tool with us, nor do we have more than one percent of our life chakra left. For many ninja in the world, it would be impossible to be conscious in the condition that we are in, but we are in the fight of our lives.
Pulling the last of the kyuubi chakra that I saved in a clear jar that sits on the floor of my soul room, I mould it into the last rasen-shuriken that I can make. By not throwing it, the nerves in my arms will completely disconnect, but it does not matter. This will surely kill him. I can sense how truly low his life chakra is in sage mode. Pulling from the last of my willpower, I rush to meet the crackling lightning that voices the sound of a thousand chirping birds.
Is this…oblivion? I cannot feel a square inch of my body, but nor can I see anything either. I know for certain that I am not inside my own head because that has always appeared to me to be an industrial hallway with leaky plumbing and, recently, the pagoda archway that surrounds the kyuubi chakra.
The more I try to make sense of things, the more I feel like my head is spinning. I stop, calming my racing thoughts and the memories of things in my past that I would never recall on a normal basis. As my mind slows, my dizziness subsides and seems to flatline at a floating sensation. I hear something…like a voice.
A child is crying softly in the distance. The sobs and whimpers sound muffled, like the child is hiding somewhere, or covered by something. Another, deeper voice joins into the voice, however, is calmer and soothing. The sobbing lets up a little bit. The more the older voice speaks, the more the tone of the child's voice gets more meek, then more eager, then happy.
I get it, I shout in my mind. It is Sasuke and his older brother when they were kids. He was such a little crybaby, but his brother always wanted to protect him and make him smile. All sound stops once more, but then see a black raven fly past my head and disappear before I hear a satisfied chuckle through the mist. The mist which most definitely was not here before. And I'm pretty sure the ground wasn't the broad branch of a tree, either.
I start to feel my body again, and I notice that I appear to be materializing. I stand in my bare feet, orange pants and black shirt, alone on the tree limb. What the heck is going on? Is this what happens when you die? I suppose no one could have told me this. What am I to do now? I look around, and start to notice that directly in front of me, two dark shapes are quickly advancing to my location. Holy crap. Am I supposed to fight or something? My body feels okay, but I can't feel my chakra at all…
"Uzumaki Naruto," says a sharp, unfamiliar voice. The figures sudden materialize, revealing themselves to be the First and Second Hokages. Oh god. This is like a dream. I'm dreaming…yes?
"No," says the Sandaime, looking highly neutral and regal. "You died."
"So I am dead?"
"Yes," replies the first, "but you can't die yet. You are the child of prophecy."
"Look, that much I know," I state, waving my hands around, hoping to gain some more explanation, or at least reaction.
"It is understandable that you are confused, decendent of the Uzumaki clan, but you must let us explain." The second chimed in again, echoing the first. "The prophecy was very long and very unclear to the ancient frog who read it to you. He didn't even have time to receive the entire message. There were two additional things in the prophecy that had not been sent to the frog before you died. As you might imagine, these tasks are not optional."
"Are you saying that I somehow still have to do these things even though I'm dead? How am I supposed to do that? That is impossible!"
"Not if you can come back to life," Tobimaru counters, shaking his head regretfully. "You probably already realize that you are not a normal child. But you are also a ninja. It is a ninja's honor to protect his village."
"I understand," I say slowly, "and I will try my best to complete whatever tasks need to be done, as long as you can explain them to me."
The first and the second nod to each other, wearing matching knowing smiles. The will o fire lives on. "Naruto," the first boldly states, "it is your duty to eliminate the threat of a man that calls himself Tobi and Madara Uchiha. The man who discraced the name of the Sage of Six Paths and caused your own parents death. And upon doing so, you must also reunite the the older and younger son of the Sage by building a village that is ruled by their descendents. In other words, you, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke shall re-build the Hidden Village of the Whirlpools and guide the world into peace."
I swear, my eyes must have been popping straight out of my head. I can feel my hands and knees shaking, but I clench my fists and bite my lip before replying, "You have got to be kidding me."
Nigh five minutes of freaking out later, I am now sitting on the barked surface and twiddling my thumbs. Every few minutes, I grab two chunks of my hair with my hands and growl in frustration. The two kages told me the history of the Sage of Six Paths, and how he really was a person. They also explained my connection to the former Hidden Whirlpool Village and the history it had. I was feeling bombarded with knowledge, but seeing no way out. That's when a thought hit me. I looked up to where the two Leaf leaders were standing silently, like the dead. They both regaurd me.
"Wait, where is Sasuke now?" They exchange a nervous glance, which makes spiders crawl up my spine.
"We don't know," the first shrugs, amusement in his eyes and tone of voice. Oh. I guess I can't expect them to know the answer to everything.
"But," the water-user interjects, "I can only assume he is receiving similar news to you in his own realm. Of course, once you both accept this task, you will be sent back to the living world."
I nod absentmindedly, trying to absorb what is being said. There is just no way Sasuke will agree to this. Even if he does, that doesn't mean we will be able to work together to do it. Sending a brief smile to the first hokage, I turn slowly and begin to wander. There is nothing left for me to do but wait until we are sent back to the real world. It looks like we are yet to be free of our burdens, Sasuke. I will be waiting.
A/N: I really hope someone is getting some enjoyment out of this fic! What do you guys think? I know it is slow building, but at least the plot is there. I really just have fun writing this fic. Reviewing would just make me so happy! Please?
