Chains

Dying

It was a very cold experience. That was all he could really tell you about dying. It was cold and happened with a fierce quickness.

A sudden brief burst of pain and you were gone. Sasuke knew immediately, he was absolutely sure this was death. The feeling of aching coolness under his skin, the way the wound on his chest exploded. Dying was quick. It wasn't fun, it certainly wasn't something that bears repeating. Not that he could if he wanted too. Death was final wasn't it? You die and that's all you're over. You've wasted your time on Earth, now you're gone.

It was an itch you couldn't reach, the burning or cold heat. The pain was quick in retrospect, but in the moment it felt as if it lasted hundreds of years. Pain so intense it wasn't truly explainable.You don't even realize your final moments are your final moments until it's all happened.

Sasuke never expected to open his eyes again. If you asked him in that final second of life he would laugh. Death was the final destination of a long journey. You could not just start another one right after.

He certainly didn't expect two pairs of concerned eyes to stare right back at him. A brief flash and he stared back.

"Sasuke?" A woman's hand reached for his face, he flinched away from her almost on instinct. Who was she? Was this his maker? Some other deity who guided you to the end? Her eyes were wide now, her mouth open. "Baby your eyes!" What?

His Sharingan. He hadn't noticed it but he could feel the burn on his right eye, the feeling of delicious power flooded him. It was like welcoming an old friend. It was activated and he couldn't believe it. But hadn't he died? What was this? One moment sinking darkness, the next horrible burning in his eye.

While having his prize in the afterlife was nice he was still very confused.

"I don't know." He said to the women. She was tearing up now but still smiling. "I don't know what's happened to me." It was the truth wasn't it? He didn't know why he spoke to her but it was almost as if he wasn't in control of his own body. Everything just felt so heavy.

"Oh baby you've gotten your quirk! We thought-" she hiccuped a little and started to laugh, "forget it! This is amazing, right Hisoka?" The man next to her continued to stare on in amazement.

He glanced around the room now, his head pounded with intense pain. He couldn't control it. It seemed to be a modest dining area that he found himself in, they were in the middle of breakfast judging by the food surrounding them.

Was this really the afterlife? A nice room and breakfast? Where two people welcome you and cry?

The women ran around the room scurrying up bowls and some type of appliance. She chatted about something, he caught brief snippets of the word quirk. That word again, what was wrong with her?

The man continued staring though. It unnerved him the way the stare penetrated him. What was his deal? The man watched him and hadn't stopped to even blink. His hands were slowly curling on his metal instrument in his hand.

He had died, yet he was alive Sasuke realized. He was breathing, these people were breathing . He could move his hands and feel pain. His body wasn't in his control; not fully at least. But this? This was life. How could he ever mistake it for death?

Though he was sure. Sasuke was more sure than anything else, he had died. Death hadn't escaped him, he felt that horrible pain. He knew it was death. But somehow he ended up here. How? Why?

These people had to be something to him. They spoke his name with familiarity. With a start he realized they felt like family. He wasn't even sure where the feeling came from. Sasuke looked at the women and felt the urge to reach for her.