title: Dream Catcher
paring: SasuNaru
pating: M for angst, language, and sexual content
d.c: Don't own Naruto as my wish has yet to come true.
a/n: I'm reposting this story cause...it's beenyears since I updated. I'm on a writitng vendetta to finish everything that I've started. So in the spirit of new beginnings I'm giving this baby a new shelf life.
Comment with thoughts.
anywho, Enjoyxoxo
Chapter 1; Nightmare
The sleeping blonde shot up suddenly, panting heavily, drenched in a cold sweat. He exhaled harshly and gipped his aching chest with a trembling hand as his accelerated heart rate threatened to cause his heart to break from his chest.
His normally tan skin, a sickly pale as hot tears ran down the ice cold expanse of his colorless cheeks.
His grim expression a reflection of an inner agony that had sank into his very soul.
He shifted slightly, abruptly stopping as he felt his stomach heaving up a gut wrenching nausea that physically shook his muscular form. The ebony waves of his bed sheets stuck to his skin, making him feel as if he were trapped in the tangled mass. He could smell the sickening stench of fear degrade every corner his small room.
"Fear is weakness"
He growled and ripped the covers from his body as he heard the phrase echo in his head. He swung long tattooed legs over the edge of his bed and sighed as his heated feet made contact with the icy hardwood floor. He raised still trembling hands to cup his face, sighing repeatedly in exasperation.
'How many damn times am I going to wake up like this? When will I stop being so fucking weak?' He thought with a self-directed rage.
He clenched his hands, dragging his nails across his eyelids and cheeks, leaving red marks in their wake. He growled in anger once more and stood abruptly. He glanced over at his digital alarm clock, expecting the little red number to read 4 A.M. The usual time that he was haunted by "the dream".
Not to his surprise the clock read 3:56 A.M.
He stretched his massive 6'1" frame, dragging toned arms above his head and groaning as his aching muscles gave a heavy resistance. He began his "morning routine" of stalking over to the closet and sliding the tiny white door across its track; pulling out a fresh set of sweat pants, a t-shirt, and his tennis shoes. Stripping off the sweats he'd been sleeping in, he slipped on a fresh pair of boxers and begrudgingly pulled on his work out attire.
He walked over to his nightstand and grabbed his iPod, headband, keys, and wallet, then flicked off the light. He left his room and went for the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the empty refrigerator. Pulling back his long hair into a nest on the top of his head and slipping in his headphones, he left his apartment, hearing the lock click behind him faintly as his workout mix began to blare in his ears.
He grabbed onto the railing outside his door, stretching his stiff frame in preparation for his workout. As every other morning, he took the time to observe the beautiful surroundings that were painted on the canvas in front of him.
The air was crisp with the scents of early morning. Although it was still dark, the sun was barley beginning to peek up against the horizon. Merchants and artisans were beginning to wake up to start the day's tasks. Children and adults alike peacefully asleep in bed.
As he descended the stairs of his apartment, the trees shifted in the morning breeze. As if the village had taken a breath, bringing it to life. He surveyed the landscape one last time and gave a hollow smile.
Time to get to work…
He began with a run. 25 laps around the village center. 30 minutes.
Then, as he reached the training grounds, 1000 push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups. 1 hour.
Next, Taijutsu practice. 30 minutes. Genjutsu practice. 30 minutes. Ninjutsu practice. 1 hour
Then, a follow up run of 10 laps around the village center. 20 minutes.
Finally, the jog back to his apartment; with his muscles screaming in agony and oxygen deprivation and his lungs burning with the white hot intensity of 1,000 suns. 15 minutes.
Total workout time: 4 hours and 5 minutes. And approximately 45 minutes before the scheduled meeting time at the training fields at 9:00 A.M. A new record.
He ascended the stairs leading to his apartment, heaving with effort as his limbs threatened to turn to complete Jell-O. He reached a shaking hand into his pocket as his workout mix winded down to the final minute of the last song. He brought the key to the lock, and weakly pushed the door open. Ripping off his shirt and pulling his hair down, he chugged the last of the bottle of water and tossed it in the trash. He drug himself over to the oversized couch in the living room and fell on it face first with an audible moan of pleasure.
And as the final 10 seconds of the song ticked to zero, tired blue eyes overcome with a deep penetrating exhaustion and his aching body numb, he muttered with washed-up anger:
'When will I stop being so fucking weak?'
9:05 a.m – Training Field 3
"Oi! "
"Where's – "
"…Naruto?" The two other members of the former rookie Team 7 and their sensei asked in unison.
With quizzical looks, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi, and Uchiha Sasuke, surveyed the usual meeting spot for their blonde companion. As of the last few years, after Sasuke's return to Konoha, Naruto had been the first and last to leave training sessions. His entire demeanor had become someone very distant and serious about the art of being a Ninja.
It was odd that he wasn't at the bridge like normal. Especially because it was the last day of their official ANBU training with their assigned mentor Kakashi. Tsunade-sama had hand-picked the three of them six months ago to join the ranks of her Black Ops, making Kakashi their sensei once more. The blonde had surpassed even Sasuke and was in line for a squad leader position even before being officially inducted. The final observation was today at 1 p.m., he should've been even earlier than normal.
It had to mean that something was seriously wrong. The three ninjas looked around silently to see matching worried faces. Sakura stood from her leaning position on the bridge and quickly turned to to Kakashi and asked:
"Sensei, what should we do? This isn't like Naruto at all…"
Kakashi placed his hand to his chin and gave a perplexed sigh. Sasuke shifted nervously as his mind raced and shuffled through a thousand scenarios as to where Naruto could be. The dobe was notorious for being in the wrong place at the wrong time but never when it came to training, which was all he did lately. Sasuke turned and began to pace in thought as Kakashi and Sakura rambled useless nonsense about him being sick or hurt or gone. Naruto was definitely in Konoha, alive and well. There was no way he'd miss today, not after what he told Sasuke the first day six months ago after training:
'Naruto and Sasuke hit the ground simultaneously after the last grueling training match of the evening. Exhausted beyond words, the two ninja huffed labored breaths as they tried to recover from the brawl. Kakashi and Sakura lie on the other end of the field, mirroring the two in their actions.
Sasuke looked down to his right arm, cut up and bleeding and hissed after realizing how much it actually hurt. Naruto shifted his eyes at the sound and moved towards Sasuke's hurt arm. He lifted his hands and preformed a few seals and extended them toward Sasuke's wound. The dull humming sound resonated in quiet field as Sasuke's eyes opened wide in shock. Naruto's red chakra swirled around his cut and soothed the pain to a dull throb in a matter of seconds.
"Naruto…you can do Medical Ninjutsu? How is that possible?" Sasuke said with a bit more shock than he would've liked.
"I cannot. This is my own jutsu. I learned to harness my rapid healing abilities from Kyuubi and manifested it into a jutsu." He said calmly, not looking up from Sasuke's arm.
Said raven was in shock from hearing the dobe, Uzumaki Naruto, explain to him how he created his own jutsu. The same dobe that used to get tied to the wooden pole in this very field by Kakashi every training session for messing up in one way or the other.
'His evolution is amazing. I hadn't noticed HOW strong he's really become'
The blonde finished healing Sasuke and slowly stood and stretched backward, bringing his arms above his head, lifting the small shirt to his upper chest. Sasuke then noticed the scars all over Naruto muscled stomach and arms. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and stood to face the stretching nin.
"'Ruto. What are all those scars? We haven't had missions in weeks…" Sasuke asked in concern and curiosity.
Naruto looked down and quickly pulled his shirt down to cover his stomach and his long sleeves to cover his arms. He gripped his wrist and stared at the ground as a small, hollow smile crept onto his lips. He gave a small chuckle and looked to Sasuke with pale blue eyes:
"Pain is for the weak, Sasuke-san. I condition myself against the weak by giving myself pain. It's the only way to become strong and achieve my dreams. Pain is the key to strength… and this ANBU training will prove mine."
Sasuke cringed. At the use of the superlative in his name that Naruto had used since he returned to Konoha and at the icy cold realization of what Naruto had been doing to himself.
"Naru—"he began, reaching for Naruto's arm.
"See you tomorrow Sasuke-san." Naruto said with a poof as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.'
'No…he surely wouldn't miss this. There's got to be something really wrong.' Sasuke thought.
"Sensei, may I go look for him?"
"Heh? Sasuke? Erm…I suppose. Do you know where he could be?" Kakashi said with confusion.
"Hn." There was only one other place that Naruto could be other than the training field.
a/n: Boom. Reinvented. Don't give up on me, I ain't quite washed up yet. Stay tuned for new installments.