Looks like Sasuke finally made it to the third gate.

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

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Chapter 2: The Life Gate

"Suddenly I began to find a strange meaning in old fairy-tales; woods, rivers, mountains, became living beings; mysterious life filled the night; with new interests and new expectations I began to dream again of distant travels […]"

― P.D. Ouspensky

Sasuke was blinded for a few seconds before his eyes got accustomed to the bright daylight of the heavens. Behind him lay nothing but a rocky cliff that went up higher than he could see; there was no going back now. His future lay ahead of him.

In front of him was the most beautiful landscape he had ever seen in his life- well, he had ever seen. A lake stretched out in different directions, heading between islands of forests composed of different types of gem-encrusted pine trees, and rock faces made of coloured stone. The water was the clear blue and pink he had seen before, the shores lined with round, small rocks and gravel. The sky above still glinted with stars but the colour had changed to oranges, reds and pinks, as if it were sundown, but the 'sun' was still hanging in the middle of the sky.

The trees cast tall shadows and glistened in the fading light, their branches swayed lightly in the breeze. The distant sound of crickets chirping and loons signing added to the magical feel of the place. The raven's eyes lingered no more than a few seconds before looking somewhere else, always finding something new in the scene before him. His head would turn and he would catch a glimpse of a translucent being running off into the forest.

The Uchiha sighed contently as he took it all in, and realized he was thirsty as he gazed at the vast expanse of water surrounding him. His legs took him to the shore where he dipped a foot in the water. It was a pleasant mix of warm and cold; cool enough to refresh and warm enough to not freeze. Sasuke bent down and cupped his hands in the clear liquid bringing it up to his mouth and swallowed it, closing his eyes in sheer bliss as it ran down his parched throat.

'Enjoying it here?'

'Oh great' was what would've been thought if that damn voice couldn't hear him. It was back again, was going to make him go insane again.

Did you enjoy watching me suffer? Sasuke interrogated in a sarcastic tone.

'I saw no suffering in what you were doing; you were glad to have forgiven' the voice answered back

Hn, shut up.

'Not just yet Sasuke, let me explain the next gate.' It replied in an amused toned.

Of course you need to explain… The raven thought in exasperation.

'This is the third gate, as you have probably already figured out, and it is called the Life Gate. This gate is by far the longest to cross, but not the hardest. It will require you using your human instinct to-'

Survive? Sasuke interrupted.

'That's right. Which is why it is called the Life Gate. With no way of telling were you are going, you have to find your way to the next gate. Also, you will find that your abilities to make things are reduced. That also has its purpose here.'

So you're telling me, was the calm tone used before an angrier one was used, that I can't make anything to help me cross this lake!?

'That's right. But feel free to try.'

Also, how will I know I will be at the next gate!?

'You'll know.'

Wait! I still have more questions!

But the voice had already decided it would leave Sasuke to fend for himself. The young Uchiha growled out. Well, he could always use his chakra to get across the lakes' winding paths.

However, that wasn't going to happen was it?

Sure enough, as soon as he tried concentrating on his chakra, it was as if it wasn't even there; as if there was a seal preventing him from using it. He cursed under his breath. Now how was he in any way going to make it to the next gate?

'The Life Gate'. This gate had a purpose, and not only survival. The voice said to use human instinct. Obsidian eyes looked ahead of him, to the island nearest to where he was, which was also far. If he followed his human instinct, the first way of getting there would be by-

Oh hell no…

Looks like he was going for a swim.

It was the only option; he went and tried to simply tie two branches together and got whacked in the face by one and burned his hand with his makeshift rope (that being a vine). He couldn't use his chakra either, as he had confirmed earlier and there was no fallen logs or trees that weren't already inhabited by one of the translucent beings. Sasuke wasn't a completely cold-hearted bastard to take away the home of an animal, especially in the afterlife. The only way was to swim from island to island in the immense lake.

The raven sighed. He had to think of this in a way that would make the task of swimming for miles a much less unwanted thing. Think of it as training, he said to himself. Seeing as there were no other options, he stepped into the water, further and further away from the shore. Soon, the water level reached his neck and his feet were barely touching the lake's floor. He started swimming.

You would say a lake would rarely have clear water, but this is the afterlife, and anything is possible. Sasuke could see below the water's surface the life that bloomed in there. There were schools of transparent fish that varied in colour, aquatic plants that seemed to grow fruits and flowers on them -under water!-, rocks and sands of the purest whites or deepest reds he had ever seen, even animals that shouldn't have been able to breathe under water, or even exist, swam freely with no need for air.

Perhaps it was because they were simply spirits of creatures that once had a mortal life, they couldn't die anymore, so they couldn't drown. But that had the Uchiha intrigued; maybe he could…?

He dove under the rippling surface, holding his breath, and when he was deep enough, let it out. Thankfully, it wasn't like at the will gate, where the need for air suffocated him, literally, but even though he wasn't breathing, he didn't feel the need for oxygen. He didn't feel pain in his lungs from lack of it either. Was this what it might be like in a womb?

Sasuke got back to the surface and realized it was getting darker, despite the 'sun' still being in its' central place in the sky. At least he wasn't far from the island he had spotted earlier. He made a quick two minute swim and got on to the rocky shore. It had not only gotten darker, but a little bit chillier as well. I need a fire, he thought.

Then again, his hands defied him and trying to break the branches on the ground was proving a little difficult. He knew how to do it, but the teen's hands seemed to not listen to his brain. Even so, he had been able to gather up enough wood for a small fire. Now, one problem remained; how was he going to light a fire with his reduced abilities?

The raven had never been one to get mad, sad or depressed over some little thing that went wrong, but this was too much. He couldn't even get warm! What was his human instinct telling him now? To find warmth, shelter and food, but no, why would the afterlife grant him those necessary things!?

Letting out a growl of anger, Sasuke slumped down on the ground, regretting it as soon as his naked skin made contact with pine needles. He got up, rubbed them off his sore ass and was about to kick a rather big rock into the water, but thought against it as he noted his feet were also bare; oh wait, that's right, he was completely nude!

It was now night out, and the sphere in the sky hadn't moved but had dimmed enough to act like a moon. The air was even colder and he was hungry, cold and needed a suitable place to lie down without getting hurt.

A rustling of leaves had his head snap up to the direction of the noise. It was a fawn. Like all the creatures living here, it was translucent. The animal didn't seem one bit scared of the teen a few feet away; in fact, it came right up to him and nudged his hand. It was rare that Sasuke would ever laugh, but he couldn't help the small chuckle that passed his lips. He shifted his hand to pet the little deer's head. Unlike what he thought, seen as the animals here looked odd, he could actually feel its fur against his fingers.

How odd… Was it him or did the artificial moonlight seem to be brighter than it was a minute ago? Well, he thought it was the moonlight, but no, it was something else. The fawn moved its little legs and there was a small burst of light. Sasuke's eyes looked at the ground and what he saw had him gasping.

Whenever he applied pressure to the earth, it shone brightly with green, blue and lavender hues. The ground was glowing. But it wasn't only the ground, all around him, the plants, the trees, the moss, the rocks, even decaying logs. His eyes took everything in. The whole forest was…alive, for lack of a better word. Even the fawn had a glow about it.

The deer then moved away from the raven, although looked back at him in a manner that said 'are you coming?' Sasuke followed it, but couldn't help but wonder why he was compelled to do so. One part of his mind was saying that, if there was a fawn, there was a mother, which also meant a nest; a possible place to sleep.

The little animal was fast on its feet; he had almost lost sight of it a few times, if it wasn't for its iridescent light. The teen moved quickly to keep up with it, still amazed at the glowing foliage around him. His feet were getting stabbed by small rocks and branches and pine needles that littered the forest floor. Thinking back on it, he didn't remember a time in his life were he had to walk or run bare foot like this.

Eventually, as Sasuke had predicted, an adult deer came into view, the smaller of the two going to cuddle its mother. The raven didn't know if it was wise to move on and follow them or to leave the pair alone. They could lead him to shelter and provide warmth. In his cold and tired state, he wanted nothing more than to follow the animals that, by now, were a few feet ahead of him. Seeing as there was no harm in trying, Sasuke quietly paced behind them, always keeping sight of the deer.

Eventually, the pair came to a stop in a small meadow secluded by the trees. The place was light enough to see that there was a nest were booth animals laid down. Pine needles and other prickly foliage had been removed beforehand from the area, leaving a hole with soft dirt and ferns to lay on. The teen was not sure if he should try to lay with the fawn and its mother; afraid they might just leave, meaning he would have no heat source.

Sasuke was too tired to think of any other options; sleep was important if he ever wanted to get out of this maze of forests and water. He gently lowered himself on the nest beside the deer; surprised that they didn't move away, and amazed that they actually moved closer, cuddling him. The fawn moved to lay itself at the raven's chest, therefore pushing him between it and the mother. This one placed its head over both Sasuke and its baby.

The teen sighed in content. He was comfortable, warm and safe from any lurking danger. All he needed now was food, but that would have to wait until morning.

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A pair of dark yet innocent eyes starred up at the sky in deep thought. It was taking much too long for his liking; 'he' was taking forever to arrive. It had been days since they first heard of 'him'. 'He' should have been here by now!

The young child frowned slightly. Still looking at the sky, he wondered, was 'he' seeing the same light, the same stars as he was right now? Was 'he' just over the winding hills, making his way here? The boy wanted to know, but his brother was never there to tell him.

"Innocence?"

The child turned his head to the sound of his mother's voice. He smiled expectedly.

"Is 'he' here yet?"

His mother sighed with a sad look on her face. It would take at least another week or so; maybe even more. The young boy's smile faded when he saw his mother's look.

"Kaa-san?... 'He's' almost here, right?" the child asked in a trembling voice.

The woman bent down to shush her child that was starting to cry.

"It's alright sweetheart, you just have to give him another week and-"

"I don't want to wait anymore!" the boy screamed with a high pitch and sobbed harder.

His mother shushed him more and stroke his raven hair as she held him close. But he wouldn't have it; his small hands pushed her back. She released him and he fell on his behind, the kimono he wore slipping from his shoulder. He sobbed harder, waking many members of the family.

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Sasuke awoke with a start, panting slightly, forehead covered by a thin sheen of sweat. He thrust his hand up in hair and, while his hand slid down to his face, he felt moisture near his eyes. Tears…? He thought confusedly. Like the last time a dream occurred to him, he had no recollection of what happened; which in turn also made his wonder what would make him cry.

He decided it best to forget about these dreams -whatever they were- and focus on the important; food.

Upon waking up, the raven had failed to notice that the glowing creatures from the night before were gone. They had probably gone in search for sustenance themselves. At the thought of food, Sasuke's stomach gave a loud growl. It was odd; up until now he hadn't ever felt hungry in the afterlife. Perhaps was it only here he would suffer an empty stomach.

Another protest came from his stomach.

"Alright, alright; I'm getting food" he reassured.

To think he was so alone he felt the need to speak to his organs…

After stretching his somewhat sore back (probably caused by the hard ground, but he had been able to sleep at least) he stepped out of the nest and towards the rocky shore. The young man had woken up just in time to see the sky change colour; the glowing globe forever in its center place in the sky. Transparent birds flew across the horizon.

Since Sasuke couldn't rely on his human knowledge to catch some meat, the Uchiha decided it best to search for edible plants, some berries, even insects wouldn't have bothered him, but this was the afterlife; he wouldn't disrupt the way things were here. Leaving the shore, he trailed inside the forest, looking around with a skilful eye.

The raven then spotted a bush covered in dark fruit. Making his way over to it, he recognised them as blackberries. He took some between his fingers and popped them in his mouth, grateful for something to eat. It wasn't much, but it was something.

After his light meal and a quick dip in the lake to rid himself of dirt from the nest, he sat down (with great caution) and thought of what to do next.

Sasuke knew he hadn't traveled much on the first day out of the cavern. Despite no longer seeing the shore where he had emerged from, he memorized the footsteps he'd taken to the nest, the ones to the berry bush and to where he was now: under the trees along the shore.

If he kept traveling the way he was going, he would need to swim quite a bit to get to the islands scattered over the lake, not to mention the miles he would need to walk through the forests. He would also have to make sure he got to a safe place to spend the night, as well as making sure there would be food there-

The raven's bladder gave a warning.

That was something the man hadn't gotten in to account. If he needed to eat, he needed to 'evacuate'. With a somewhat irritated sigh, Sasuke stood, finding a tree to do his business. It was funny he thought, that he would forget these kinds of things in the afterlife; it had been so normal to take a piss while he was alive, yet here it seemed so unnecessary. After having finished up, he came back to the shore to look around. From the steps he had taken to the nest, the bush and now here, he visualised, and came up with the assumption that he was now on the opposite side of this island, away from the entrance to this gate.

Sighing, he decided to make his way over to another island. He spotted a small peninsula that would bring him closer to the next shore than if he were to depart from where he stood at that moment. Taking that path there, he looked around the vast lake and felt small.

How was he ever going to find the next gate in such a large and complex landscape?

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5 days had passed since the beginning of his journey. Sasuke had since then encountered all types of events and creatures. One night had brought torrential rain that had left him freezing and searching for a place to dry -he recalled finding a cave where spiritual wolves had settled and had, thankfully, let him stay the night-; another day had him being followed by a family of wild birds, the species which he couldn't remember for the life of him; yet another day had him swimming from dawn till dusk. Right now, the raven was munching on nuts he had come across while treading through another forested island. A translucent squirrel had kept him company, and the teen shared his meal with the small creature.

Some nights, like this one, he wouldn't sleep. He would stare in wonder at the sights before him. His obsidian eyes trailed over the beauty of a glowing flower, a very light blue in colouring. The lake life in it shone like the stars in the sky above. Sighing, he set the last of his meal on the ground for the small rodent, who took it gratefully.

Sasuke's feet carried him to the shore. He felt lost. He felt he would never find the next gate. He felt like this was a dream; that it wasn't really happening, but it was. He felt angry at that damn voice which had abandoned him in this god-forsaken labyrinth of water and trees. Then again, as the voice had explained, this was a test of survival. Frankly, he was doing quite a good job. After all, he wasn't hungry, he no longer found it difficult to find shelter and swimming had become something as normal as walking. He was much better off than most in this situation, perhaps.

The thought that other people might have been treading the same path as he was in this landscape made him feel… He didn't know. He thought of his parents. Had they also endured these tasks? If they had, and if they were somewhere beyond the gates, would he see them?

Another thought occurred to Sasuke then. What if they had stayed stuck in the first gate, like so many other souls had? Sasuke felt sick to his stomach at the fleeting thought. He didn't want to go through all this if he was the only one to have ever survived the gates. He didn't want to end up at the end of these gruelling tasks and have no one to share the victory with.

The raven hadn't even noticed he started shaking. From cold, from fear, from anger at whoever was putting him through this. He cursed beneath his breath. After having walked back in the forest, he settled down on a patch of soft moss. He closed his eyes, desperately hopping sleep would come. It did, to his relief.

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Ebony eyes opened. It was still dark outside, but the light in the sky was slowly changing to a light blue, signalling that dawn was soon to come. Sasuke lifted himself from the moss bed. He walked around the island, intent to keep going until he would finally-

He stopped in his tracks, eyes trained on a light source that didn't come from the forest around him. It was on the other side of the lake from where he was. But it was unmistakeable.

It was firelight.

Sasuke strained his eyes to see what he could not believe he stumbled upon. Over there, resting on a shore overlooking a forested mountain, was a dock. Torches burned in their holsters, a beautiful blue yet warm light that was unlike the foliage around him. He could faintly see the outline of a cavern, where more torches burned idly.

Without a second thought, he swam to the other side of the lake, never taking his eyes off of the next gate.

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To be continued…