Disclaimer: Me no own Naruto or any related characters, just this lil' story.

Chapter 3: The Familiar Stranger

The first thing Sasuke noticed was the emptiness.

He was standing on the edge of a river, completely alone. The fact didn't bother greatly as he had considered himself alone for quite some time now. But the fact that he was alone and defenseless. That was a whole different matter.

His chakra was extremely low. He knew it instinctively without knowing the reason for the sudden deficiency.

That meant he had nothing to protect himself, except his weapons and hands. Well, those would have to do then. He had good aim.

He studied his surroundings with a critical eye.

There was no sound, except the slight tinkling of water and his own breathing.

The sky was grey and sad. There was no sun, no color in this place.

Then he looked at the river that seemed to stretch on for miles and miles. It was murky black, whispering of sin and shadows. Somehow, just looking at it made him unbearably thirsty. The ache spread from his throat to his heart. He had to stop the hurt. The pain came from nowhere and yet, had always been with him. Unconsciously, he knelt, hands moving toward the liquid that promised relief.

"…I wouldn't touch that if I were you."

Sasuke turned at the voice, thirst forgotten. So he wasn't alone, after all.

The person eyeing him wore a Konoha Anbu mask.

Nevertheless wary, Sasuke reached into his pouch for a weapon. It never hurt to be careful. He froze upon touching air.

"Looking for these?" the stranger said casually, dangling a pair of kunai, "If you want them, come get them."

He knew a challenge when he heard one. With narrowed eyes, Sasuke slid into a taijutsu stance. No chakra, no weapons, but he still had his hands and those were dangerous on their own.

"You look strong. That's good. Worthy opponents are the most fun to break."

The voice was too confident for Sasuke's taste. Tense and alert, he waited for the other to make the first move.

It came quickly. The two kunai, aimed at his neck, shot through the air, too fast to be caught. Sasuke dodged. A cloud of shuriken followed him and he nimbly moved again to avoid harm.

The masked figure was suddenly behind him. A kick to his back sent him falling face forward to the ground.

Arms shooting forward instantly in a reflex, Sasuke saved himself from impact. He did a quick somersault, picking up a kunai and flinging it at his opponent in the process. He was already on his feet by the time the blade found its home in the stranger's shoulder.

Sasuke smirked as the figure staggered backward, clutching his new wound.

"Itai… That hurt…"

But whatever other complaints he may have had remained unsaid for Sasuke had charged forward to deliver a solid punch to his face.

There was a loud crack and the mask split evenly in two. The dark shadows shouted gleefully in anticipation as the white halves fell.

Sasuke leapt backward.

His enemy stumbled and then regained his balance. In a swift motion, he pulled out the kunai with disdain and sighed, "Now where am I gonna get new black robes? Oh geez, there's a great big hole!" He ripped off the dark cloth to show a familiar, orange workout suit, scowling at the person responsible, "Thanks a lot, you bastard."

Sasuke blinked, "Naruto?"

The guy stood up, running a hand through blonde hair and grinning, "That's the owner of this face, right?"

So it wasn't Naruto. He was about to attack again when he realized the other boy wasn't bleeding. There was no red where the kunai had gotten him. Obviously, the enemy wasn't as powerless as he seemed. Sasuke held himself back and decided to adopt a more passive approach. It was a far-off possibility but perhaps if he tried hard enough to muster chakra…

"Oh hey! Your eyes changed color! How'd ya do that?"

Apparently, he wasn't familiar with the powerful Sharingan of the Uchiha bloodline.

"Neh, neh, is that like some kind of supervision? Can you see through walls? Hehehe, it'd be awesome if you could. I know some real nice bathplaces…"

Hmph. He sure acts like Naruto, Sasuke thought, eyebrow twitching. This person had the irritating part down flat.

…And this person wasn't alive. Sasuke stared and stared with a rising level of dread. Was his Sharingan lying to him? Iie. That wasn't possible.

"Who are you?" he finally demanded, hiding his uneasiness.

"I don't have a name. I suppose…" he thought about it before letting an impish smile spread, "I suppose you can call me Naruto. After all, we do look a tad alike, don't you think?" He dissolved into a fit of snickers.

"You're not Naruto. You're not even human," Sasuke said, dead-pan, "With the Sharingan, I look at you and all I see is a faceless shadow with no substance."

It was true. Under normal conditions and normal eyes, its appearance resembled Naruto. It even acted like an idiot. But the Sharingan did not tolerate deception and before red eyes, the being before him appeared in its true form. Featureless. Black.

It was shaped like a human but it lacked organs and a face. It possessed no eyes, no nose, no mouth, no heart… All that was replaced by a sinister blackness. In all respects, it looked like a shadow.

"The Sharingan…" the dark form muttered in recognition before retorting, "Well, how much substance do you expect in the Land of Shadows?"

Aa, so that's where he was. He had been wondering. Perhaps this thing knew where Sakura was, too. "I'm looking for someone."

"Who?"

"A girl with pink hair."

"Ahhh!" exclaimed the shadow, "I just saw her!"

"Where?"

"Sorry to disappoint you but you're a bit late."

"Late? Where is she?"

"The place you are in now is a version of purgatory. It's where the souls of those who have just died wait until they can go across, " the shadow pointed across the river, "Over there is the land of the dead where they go. Your friend, the pretty little thing with the pink, just left."

There was more. Sasuke waited, letting his Sharingan fade so that the face looking at him was no longer blank and black.

'Naruto' smiled at him but the blue eyes were not those belonging to a friend. They burned with malice for the shadow had guessed his purpose, "…And once you cross over, you can't come back."

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…Haha, a corny way to end it but now I know what you're all thinking. Of course he comes back, right? Right?