Disclamer: I don't own the franchise or the characters. Kishimoto is the lucky person...
Nothingness
Prologue
"What happens when we die, do you think?" Black eyes observed a beetle slowly making its way through small cracks in the hotel's foundation. It scuttled along the wooden floorboards before disappearing through a hole.
"Itachi-san, that's not at all like you," The shark-nin looked up from his makeshift stove. "What brought this on?
The rice sizzled happily in the pan. Lately Kisame had been feeling more domestic. At just over six feet, the ninja was intimidating, yet seemed almost gentle hunched over the cooking food.
He was growing increasingly aware of the fewer risks he took, and the more content he was with life's simpler things. He hummed as he prepared their dinner; maybe it was time to retire from the Akatsuki.
"I just need to know. It's been tugging at my mind…"
Conversely, Itachi Uchiha was of a slight build, very skinny, yet still suggesting a sort of power. At only 21, he was the youngest member of the group, excluding Tobi. To Kisame, he was still only a boy. It seemed only natural that someone his age would be curious about the afterlife.
Kisame sighed: dealing with youngsters made him feel his age. "No one really knows, Itachi-san. Hidan says all nonbelievers rot in a dark pit of Hell. Orochimaru believed that in heaven there are 70 virgins. Kakuzu doesn't believe in a god: it's all up for debate."
Here he stopped and chuckled a bit. The two immortals were the only men older than himself, and they fought as though they had been married for even longer. They had tried to keep that aspect of their partnership a secret… until they had been outed by a hapless Tobi.
"Kisame?"
The smell of burnt rice filled the room. "Ah, shit!" It would take another 20 minutes to make a new batch. "I'm sorry Itachi-san."
The boy gave a small, coy smile. "It's okay – I don't mind." His eyes roved over the cottage's floor again. "But you didn't answer my question. What do you think happens when we, um, pass away?"
Really, this whole conversation was completely avant-garde.
The mist-nin began to hum another tune. "I'm not taking any stance on it. Religion and the afterlife is not something I'm qualified to discuss. But you have time, Itachi-san. I wouldn't worry about what comes next."
They sat in silence for a short while, the only sound the scratching of Kisame's cookware.
"I wasn't concerned with myself," came the soft reply. "I just wanted to know what I condemned my clan to."
Kisame's heart fluttered when he met those eyes across the room. Dark, soulful and tired: so very tired.
A/N: Well, here we are! I'm really proud of this fic, and I've already completed it. Typing it up from rough draft to final is gonna be a pain, tho. The story's really long, as this does not suggest, but I hope that I'll get quite a few reviews. That is, if you like, and have the time - please do leave ConCrit:p